


Tale I: Return of Aldorak

by Noir995



Series: Tales of The Regiment of Sacred Hunters [1]
Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:07:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 36,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25053622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noir995/pseuds/Noir995
Summary: As far as newly enrolled Ravnica University student Ashe Sinclair was concerned, magic and the creatures associated with it were nothing but fairy tales. This all changed the day she used magic against a group of assailants, and found herself thrust headlong into the wacky world of the Regiment of Sacred Hunters.
Series: Tales of The Regiment of Sacred Hunters [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2067048
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	1. A Day Unlike Any Other

**Author's Note:**

> I claim no copyright to anything that has been used or named within this story.

_**Unknown Temple…** _

The decaying cathedral before them was vast in terms of size. Strips of red beams shone through the broken pane glass windows as multiple humanoid individual adorning identical black, scaled armour with matching face masks resembling dragons surrounded the large hole in the centre of the room. Amongst the armoured individual, a balding man draped in purple and gold ceremonial robes traversed the large mounds of treasure towards the hole, a large golden helmet with five uniquely coloured dragon heads; black, blue, green, red and white, respectively.

Above the alter with the robed man holding the golden helm, a hooded figure was crouching amidst the rafters, his face obscured by the flaying black hood attached to his equally aged cloak floating in the wind. Standing up from his crouched position, the figure revealed himself to be draped in dirt brown leather suit, a faded red scarf-like sash loosely wrapped around his neck with a large single strap sitting diagonally across his chest, connecting to his waist piece. The only piece of armour showing on their person were a set of damage greaves as he swan dived off his perch to an unknown region of the hall.

As two of the identically armoured individuals passed a collapsed pillar during their sweep of the area, the masked figure quickly emerged from the shadows with knife in hand as he dealt with the duo before charging towards the man with the gold helm. Various of the other armoured people panicked as they attempted to apprehend the masked man, only for the masked man to fling small daggers in their direction with a marksman’s aim, incapacitating some while killing others outright.

Choosing to ignore the masked man slowly closing in on him, and adamant the others would stall him enough, the robed man quickly placed the helmet upon his head as stretched his hands outwards in prayer. From the depths of the hole before the man in purple robe, a deep rumbling roar echoed throughout the ruins, causing the brawl between the masked man and the armoured people to cease. As the rumbling became more intense, a huge pillar of fire shot up into the sky as a colossal dragon surfaced with five heads, each one identical to the smaller figures adorning the golden helm atop the robed man’s head. As each of the head moved independently to survey the room, the main red head zeroed in on the masked man as fire began building within its mouth before expelling it forwards.

****

Slamming the last cardboard box onto the larger one already situated by the door, Ashe Sinclair breathed a sigh of relief as she wiped her brow while turning back to look over her handywork. Having spent the majority of her weekend packing, Ashe was glad to see everything finally packed and ready for the big move. Surveying the cardboard jungle before her, Ashe decided to take a quick breather as she plopped down on her bare bed. Ashe wore of a pair of black ripped jeans with green canvas shoes, a light blue top with a faded logo in the centre and a green plaid shirt tightly wrapped round her waist. Her red coloured hair with silver dyed tips was tied into a high ponytail with a single bang draped over the right-hand side of her face.

“Sure you haven’t missed anything?” asked a middle-aged woman standing in the open doorway, gaining Ashe’s attention with a smile. The woman wore green, plain crop trousers with a white top underneath a buttoned up navy woollen cardigan with one hand casually nestled in the pockets of the cardigan, “You make it sound as if I’m never coming back mum, besides soon enough you’ll need the space” laughed Ashe as she arose from her seat as she joined her mother in the doorway, indicating to her mother’s large abdomen.

“Are you sure you have to move on campus? If travelling is the issue then I’d be more than happy to drop you off” reasoned Ashe’s mother as Ashe sighed before turning to hug the older woman, “The room is included within the enrolment, I’d be daft not to take the offer. Besides, you know I’ll visit every weekend I can and I’m only a phone call away” sighed Ashe as she backed away from her mum at arm’s length. Letting out sigh, Ashe turned back towards the stack of boxes littering her now bare room and continued to pack the remainder of her belongings before aiding her mother in loaded up Ashe’s car with some boxes, “I’ll take these ahead of the rest and get the key for the room” called Ashe as she entered the driver seat and entered the destination’s post code into the sat nav.

_**Ravnica University, London** _

Located in heart of greater London; Ravnica University had been known as one of the most prestigious institute on the British Isles, multiple building surrounding a large open garden acted as the main site with several flats in the area acting as accommodation for the students. Pulling into the dorm parking area and taking her first steps on campus ground, Ashe was so engulfed by the glee growing from the pit of her stomach, that she failed to notice the young man accidently colliding into her. The young man in question wore a strange combination of navy jeans, red plaid shirt with a dark grey hood attached and a sleeveless blue denim vest on top. A black headband could be seen covering his forehead underneath his messy fringe.

Turning to apologise for the collision, Ashe noticed a unique strand of silver hair among his messy mop of brown hair as the young man adjusted his glasses to sit on his face properly, “So sorry, my idiot roommate changed my alarm despite knowing I was to help a freshman” grumbled the young man apologetically as he brushed of the dirt and offered Ashe a hand up, “Nothing to worry about, guess that makes you Theodore McCrimmon? I’m Ashe, the freshman you are looking for” revealed Ashe while jokingly waving her hand in mock jedi fashion.

“Please, call me Teddy. The only people who really calls me Theodore are my grandparents” laughed Teddy as he ushered Ashe into the main building before them to get the key for her room.

The main reception for the dorms had the information kiosk tucked away in the back left corner under the staircase, spanning from to the set of double doors to their immediate left all the way to the far side of the room was numerous mini mailboxes, each labelled with dorm numbers with name stickers underneath. After speaking with the nice woman behind the kiosk, Teddy jogged up to Ashe before taking her up the stairs towards her room.

“So, while I know this place offers a wide array of courses, which one did go for?” asked Teddy as he lead Ashe up to the first floor, through a set of double doors and currently walking down a hallway with various doors on either side with the dorm numbers situated on the left side under small wall lamps. “I applied for the veterinary course” said Ashe as a sad smile appeared on her face, “My dad was the local vet you see, mum always said he had this way with animals and that I inherited this gift” she explained as the two arrived at their destination.

The room itself was quite spacious, with a single door to their immediate right no doubt leading to the bathroom. In the main area stood two single beds at either side of the room with two small desks sitting against the wall in-between. Upon the bed on the right side of the room was another girl roughly the same age as Ashe, her dirty black hair hanging in a low ponytail, nestled into the black hood with white triangles sitting round the edge to resemble teeth. Turning to face Ashe and Teddy, the woman revealed the remainder of her attire: a turquoise tee under the black hoodie and grey sweatpants.

“Ashe, allow me to introduce you to your roommate Piper” said Teddy as he stood to the side so Ashe could properly get the introductions out of the way, “Hi Piper, hope you and me are going to great friends” smiled Ashe as she extended her hand towards the other woman. Appearing to be slightly hesitant, Piper eventually cracked a small smile as she quickly took Ashe’s hand and completed the handshake.

****

After her initial introduction to her future roommate, Ashe continued her tour of the campus with Teddy, whom she found out was currently studying criminology and ethical hacking. Eventually the tour brought the duo before a grand cathedral-like building with two more modern building standing on both sides.

“Here we have Ravnica Hall, the oldest building on campus and the alleged headquarters of a secret military battalion during the second world war known as the Regiment of Sacred Hunters” explained Teddy as the two stood before the stairs of the University’s oldest and most important building, “Of course, the building has received multiple investigations and there has been no sign of this Regiment. Nowadays, the Hall acts as the University’s main source of knowledge in the form of its library”

Matching with the exterior of the Hall, the interior of Ravnica Hall consisted of a large white open space with black beams above and hanging lights down the left and right sides of the hall. Running down the middle, was a light brown carpet over grey tiled flooring with various open desks on the inside and leather comfy chairs with small tables towards the outside of the carpet. A large archway stood halfway down the left side of the hall into another section, with other smaller archways standing at various points around the hall.

The tour of the hall seemed to have taken much longer than Ashe realised, as she and Teddy left Ravnica Hall to an orange sky to indicate the sun was setting, “Now comes the part where the tour ends, and I take you back to your dorm to finish unpacking. However, the only people who follow such a thing tend to be the staff” revealed Teddy as he pointed over to a building that Ashe didn’t seem to recognise. “We students who volunteer to be tour guides tend to know more about the stress than the staff, hence our tradition of introducing you to The Lucky Gryphon”

As Teddy guided Ashe away from Ravnica Hall towards The Lucky Gryphon, the two failed to notice a masked figure crouched upon the Hall’s domed rooftop.

Being a woman in her early twenties, Ashe had been to a number of establishments similar to The Lucky Gryphon however, there was something about the bar that seemed familiar to her; as if she were meant to be here.

To the immediate right from the entrance sat a string of four booths, each one with a large window situated next to the table. The centre of the bar was slightly lower than the entrance and booth section, with wooden beams with fencing between them acting as a perimeter around the elevated platforms. Opposite the fencing before the entrance was a line of high rise tables, and father into the lowered section were wide, circular tables with comfortable looking leather recliners, similar to the ones found with Ravnica Hall. Various pictures and strange wall decorations littered the walls and at the far corner of the room, sat a long bar with various alcoholic bottles and glasses stacking along with stone wall behind.

“Come on, I’ll get us the first round while you grab a seat” smiled Teddy as he jumped down the small stairway and went straight for the bar. Not wanting to share a drink with a stranger and needing to take her medication, Ashe waited until Teddy was heading for the bar when she quietly slipped out of the establishment.

****

Quickly making a beeline back towards the main dorm complex through a car park, Ashe couldn’t help but feel as though something was watching her. Initially believing it to be Teddy following her from The Lucky Gryphon, Ashe quickly turned on the spot to confront him; only to find there was nobody behind her. Pinning her current sense of paranoia on her current state of exhaustion and need of her tablets, Ashe turned back to continue heading back to her dorm; only to suddenly come face to face with a masked black haired feminine figure clad in a red and blue catsuit with golden circles on the arms, a strange golden apparatus on her right wrist with a fan in her left and two chisa katanas upon her waist.

Jumping back in shock from the woman’s sudden appearance as she raise the contraption on her wrist, Ashe felt a strange yet familiar feeling course through her as she shielded her face with the backs of hands. With a sudden gust of wind and the sound of something hitting a car, Ashe cautiously lowered her hands from her face to find the masked person had somehow been through away from her and was now slumped within a crater in the side of someone's car. “Hey, what’s going on here?” called someone as Ashe covered her mouth with a shaky hand with tears brimming in her eyes. Her focus on the person she just killed was shifted as Teddy suddenly entered her field of view with a concerned look on his face, “Ashe, I’m going to need you to focus on me okay? Let me take you somewhere safe and you can tell me what happened” said Teddy as gently moved Ashe away from the scene, making sure to remain between her and the body as quickly walked away.

Turning the corner away from the scene, Teddy quickly turned back to ensure they weren’t being followed when suddenly a white fan with a red sun painted in the centre embedded itself in the ground before them, causing them to halt their attempt making it to Ravnica Hall. Turning to face where the fan came from, Ashe and Teddy were surprised to find the same masked figure from before standing upon the rooftops, their left arm still twisted in an unnatural position.

“We need to get inside Ravnica Hall now” said Teddy as he and Ashe hurried towards the Hall as the masked woman suddenly dropped from the rooftop and onto a car below, causing the car’s top to cave from the sudden weight. Sparing a glance behind them, Ashe was horrified to see the masked woman emerge from the rising steam off the crushed car, her right leg twisted into a painful looking position. Suddenly, their limbs slowly began twisting themselves back into their original position in some strange regenerative fashion straight from the comic book, causing Ashe to immediately turn and continue with her dash for safety with Teddy. Upon making it to the Hall doors, they immediately attempted to gain entry, only to find the doors were locked up tight.

“Damn it, of course this would be one of those nights” cursed Teddy as he banged his fist against the door in attempts to get someone’s attention. Hearing the sound of knives being dragged across stone, the two slowly turned to find the masked woman had drawn her blades and was now slowly advancing upon them, like a predator savouring the hunt before going in for the kill. The moment the masked woman began ascending the stairs towards the Hall, another figure descended from the Hall to face the masked woman. The figure before Teddy and Ashe was draped in a royal blue trench coat with golden highlights and a black hood over their head, bronze armoured gauntlets and apparently greaves as well from what could be seen under the coat. Attached to their waist was multiple belt lines connecting to a bronze tasset piece on their right side and a thin black holster on the left.

"About bloody time you showed up" grumbled Teddy quietly under his breath, causing the hooded figure to turn and face them, revealing to Ashe his piercing golden eyes before turning back to face the impending woman. Within the blink of an eye, the hooded figure lunged forwards against the masked woman, the two locked in a fierce dance of blades as spark flew between her two sword and their thin broadsword that was drawn during their initial lunge. Mesmerized by the fight before her, Ashe seemingly failed to notice as the Hall’s doors opened slightly until Teddy quickly grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her inside and the doors quickly shut behind her.

****

Unlike before when they visited Ravnica Hall, the unsettling silence put Ashe on edge as she attempted to find Teddy amidst the darkness. After a couple of minutes trying to find her bearings, a small light could be seen emanating from the stairway leading downwards to the basement levels. Despite seeing multiple horror movies, Ashe still decided to move towards to eerie light in hopes she would find Teddy at least and not the crazy woman with the double machetes or something equivalent. After following the light into the lower parts of the Hall, Ashe eventually came to the source of the light; a flickering bulb with a large iron door she hadn't seen on any map during her tour with Teddy. Testing the door, Ashe was surprised to find it unlocked when suddenly, a nearby smash caused her to turn to face the way she had come. As she turned to face the way back, an eerie shadow appeared in the moonlight and appeared to be getting closer. Not wanting to chance getting caught by the masked woman nor the hooded figure, Ashe threw caution to the wind and quickly entered the iron door before closing it behind her.

From the iron door she had entered, Ashe found herself standing before a downward set of stairs illuminated by the wall mounted torches on her left-hand side. Just when her common sense was returning, a sudden banging against the iron door caused Ashe to quickly descend the stairway to find herself standing within a large open room illuminated by various crystal-like wall mounts and glowing water around the edge of the room. Large stone structures and archways surrounded the edge with the centre of the room void of anything upon its black marble surface. Sitting opposite from where Ashe stood, as well as to her left and right, sat wooden double doors leading to places unknown.

Before Ashe could properly marvel at her discovery, the double doors to her right suddenly swung open, causing her to quickly hide behind the nearest pillar. From the now open doors entered a tall male with his brown hair styled into a comb over parted on the right. He wore a long sleeved sky blue shirt underneath a black waistcoat with a light check pattern, black jeans and a set of brown, laced up boots. Seemingly focused on the book he was reading in his left hand, the man continued on towards the doors opposite Ashe, revealing his right arm to be seemingly covered in some form of armoured plating with his sleeve rolled up past his elbow to reveal it.

“My dear, how long are you going to hide behind that pillar?” asked the man while his back remained facing Ashe as he closed the book he was currently reading. When Ashe decided to remain hidden behind the pillar, the man released a sigh before he flicked his metallic hand to the side, causing Ashe to suddenly feel herself being pulled from her hiding position and found herself standing before the man, “Now then I suppose introductions are in order” said the man as he was joined by several other people emerging from the shadows.

From the figures, Ashe was able to notice the man from outside, now with his hood down to reveal his long, dirt blonde hair and muscular body with dark grey leather trousers with bronze greaves. Along with the pale swordsman, Ashe was shocked to see her roommate Piper along with a sheepish looking Teddy rubbing the back of his head, “My name is Professor James Van Helsing, headmaster of Ravnica University” bowed the man with the metal arm, now identified at Prof. Van Helsing, “I bid you, Ashe Sinclair, welcome to the Tomb headquarters for the Regiment of Sacred Hunters”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you guys think of my newest story?
> 
> I'll still be updating my Inquisition Series, however have had some ideas floating about regarding a new premise, and here we are 
> 
> Please leave your Kudos and comments on what you thought and will be sure to continue updating to keep y'all invested :3


	2. The Regiment of Sacred Hunters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having survived an attack by a strange woman in a mask and had her world flipped upside down, Ashe is offered a place among the Regiment of Sacred Hunters. Will she take the offer? And what was the reason behind the masked woman's attack?

_**Tomb of the Sacred Hunters** _

Ashe wasn’t sure what she was meant to believe. One minute she applying for a university course to advance in her life, and the next she’s suddenly being chased by masked zombies and entering a cult’s underground base. “I’m sure you have a great many questions for us” said Prof. Van Helsing, almost as if he had sensed the inner turmoil from within Ashe brewing to a boiling point, “Franklin, could you please show our guest here to my office along with Theodore, Piper and Gabriel” said the Professor as he motioned to a large creature with varying tones of skin held together with various stitched seems.

In terms of attire, Franklin appeared to be in a cliché butler’s three piece suit as he motioned for Ashe, Piper, Teddy and the man in blue trench coat (now known to Ashe as Gabriel) to follow him through the door opposite where Ashe entered prior. The moment Ashe stepped foot within Prof. Van Helsing’s office, she was greeted with a warm and strangely familiar feeling within her bones as she took in her surroundings. While the floor remained the same black marble as outside, the walls and ceiling were made of fine wood panels with a large crystal formation illuminating the room. A large circular table sat in the middle of the room with two smaller desks towards its left and right with various maps and other documents strewn across them. Towards the back of the room sat a large desk with two large red armchairs facing towards it and a black one facing the door. Behind the black chair, hung a sheathed broadsword with a steel handguard and jewelled hilt.

Turning one of the armchairs by the Prof’s desk, Piper leapt up so she was squatting on the chair while Gabriel moved towards one of the bookshelves to the side and leaned against it, leaving Teddy and Franklin to remain standing with Ashe as the awkward silence between the group became ever potent, “Alright I’ll play along, who are you lot, and what is The Regiment of Sacred Hunters?” sighed Ashe as she folded her arms over her chest and moved her gaze from Teddy to Piper to Gabriel and then back to Teddy in attempts to see who would answer her.

“For as long as anyone can remember, magic and mystical creatures have been the basis for almost every single culture known to man. The Regiment of Sacred Hunters exists to keep this notion a reality” explained Franklin with a deep booming voice, catching Ashe off guard as, up until now, she believed him to be a mute. “So basically, what you’re telling me is that magic is real and you guys are meant to keep it in check?” questioned Ashe as she was about to break down in laughter at the ridiculous notion, until she saw the serious looks on everyone’s face. “Does it really have to be me this time?” asked Teddy as he turned to face Piper, followed by Gabriel, who both look on with sympathy but remain silent as Teddy hunches over in defeat.

Confused by what Teddy had to do, Ashe moved to ask the room when her question became caught in her throat as Teddy suddenly began removing his top to reveal his muscular physique however, it wasn’t his muscle that caught Ashe’s attention, more the varying scars littering his body. Meeting her eyes with his own, Teddy gave Ashe a small sad smile before his body suddenly began releasing mist from various point across his body, forcing Ashe to shudder from the sudden temperature drop. As more mist rolled of his body, Teddy began to grow in size until he was roughly the same height as Franklin, his already muscular physique increasing as well. His skin was suddenly covered in a thin white fur, with his brunette hair changing into a light grey and grew to cover the majority of his back. His headband unfurled itself and slowly fell to the ground, revealing a set of large pointed ears as Teddy’s face extended to form a wolf’s snout. His legs became elongated, similar to the back legs of a wolf. As the steam rolling off his body began to cease, Teddy opened his eyes to reveal his eyes were now a silver colour as appose to their normal blue from before.

Releasing a breathy sigh in the form of mist from his elongated mouth, Teddy finally made eye contact with Ashe, who was currently shaking with her eyes as wide as saucers. When Teddy took a few steps forwards and reached out for her with his large hand, Ashe instinctively flinched away from him, causing Teddy to halt his advance and lower his hand. Upon seeing the hurt expression on Teddy’s face from her reaction, Ashe moved to apologise to him for being insensitive however, it was at that moment the Professor chose to enter the study. “I see you’ve introduced our young friend here to part of what we do here” said Prof. Van Helsing as he gave Teddy a sympathetic smile, “Why don’t you get changed Theodore, and Gabriel, Piper and I can fill Miss Sinclair in on the rest” Silently nodding to the Professor’s plan, smoke once again rolling off Teddy as he reverted back to his human form.

Picking up his discarded top, Teddy quickly walked past Ashe, who tried to apologise but found her feet failed to move her as Teddy slipped past and through the office doors.

****

“Now while I understand that you may have some questions in regard to what you just witnessed however, please allow us to finish our explanation before asking any questions that we shall happily answer” said Prof. Van Helsing as he waved his metallic arm over the centre table. Immediately after waving his arm over it, the table began to glow a blue hue in the centre as various images arose from the light, each showcasing varying creatures Ashe had never seen before. “As I’m sure you are aware of now, our world is occupied creatures and wonders most only believe to be the supernatural. Legends go that the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius caused a dimensional tear between our world and the world of the supernatural, which we have come to call the Faerûn Realm. While most remain unaware of the Faerûn Realm, there are others who seek to disrupt the balance between our world and the Faerûn Realm” The images of the creatures slowly changed to show these people, “The last major attempt was during the Second World War, when Hitler planned to use supernatural means to win the war, and bring about his ideals for the master race. “In order to prevent this from happening, Churchill, by order of the royal family, created a secret division whose purpose was the preservation of the balance and defending Britain’s borders from supernatural invasion. Thus the Regiment of Sacred Hunters was founded, comprised of the best men and woman, both human and Faerûnian, to learn and combat against all things supernatural”

As the Professor finished his explanation on the Regiment and images faded along with the light, Teddy returned to the office. Along with his headband, Teddy now wore a loose fitting navy tunic shirt with Celtic looking runes inscribed along his collar and sleeves, a set of leather bracers on both arms and black three quarter length cargo trousers while remaining barefoot. “Sorry, but all this is too much for me” said Ashe as she began waving her arms in a cross pattern as Teddy walked over to join Gabriel in standing against the bookcase, “I’m not some supernatural soldier to fight the forces of Mordor for you, I’m just Ashe Sinclair; the girl who wants to be like her father and become a vet and nothing more” “If that is truly what you wish, then it isn’t my place to stop you from leaving” said the Professor, quickly raising his hand to silence the coming arguments he saw on both Teddy’s and Piper’s faces, “Before you express the usual not telling a soul cliché, you have my word that your memories of this night will be purged from your mind and you shall awake the following morning as if nothing has happened” explained the Professor as he suddenly blew some glittering dust in Ashe’s face, causing the young woman to cough and splutter before slowly drifting into an deep slumber.

_**Dorm #247, the following morning…** _

As specks of light seeped into the silent dorm through the cracks in the curtains, Ashe slowly groaned and turned away as the beams reached her eyes, forcing her to sit up and survey her surprisingly empty dorm room. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Ashe couldn’t shake the strange feeling regarding the dream she just had, “It felt so real; the masked woman with the mask and the underground bunker filled with strange creatures” mused Ashe as she got ready for her first day at Ravnica University. Going with a simple outfits of jeans, stripped top and red plaid shirt; Ashe grabbed her messenger bag and keys before opening her dorm’s door and made her way to her first class of the day; chemistry.

Upon walking into the bustling class, Ashe was initially surprised to see Teddy sitting at one the high tables along with someone Ashe swore seemed familiar but just couldn’t place his face. He wore a blue striped Mexican Baja Jerga hoodie with black trousers and boots with his silver hair tied into a low ponytail that came to the middle of his back. Teddy was wearing a black and blue plaid shirt underneath a black jumper with a three quarter zip and the same blue jeans and canvas shoes he wore the previous day. Choosing to sit at the empty high table in front of Teddy and the other man, Ashe began preparing her books for the first lesson when another woman about Ashe’s age walked in. She appeared to be in pretty basic clothes; a green hoodie and black cropped trousers with her thick black hair fed through the back of her cap as a ponytail. Suddenly overcome with an unknown sense of dread upon seeing the woman, Ashe remained silent as the woman silently sat at the other side of the table she sat at.

_**Outside Ravnica Hall, Lunchtime…** _

Despite the unshakable sense of dread Ashe felt towards the black haired woman, the remainder of Ashe’s morning remained rather uneventful. Deciding to have her lunch near Ravnica Hall in the garden while the sun was out shining, Ashe found her mind wondering back to the strange dream she had last night. Flashes of a shirtless man transforming into a white werewolf, a large man made of different pieces and the word Faerûn repeating itself as various images hovered overhead like video screen. Amidst the floating screens, a large pair of fiery eyes opened and stared intently at Ashe in attempt to mesmerise her.

“Sorry to intrude, is it alright if a join you?” asked a feminine voice, drawing Ashe away from her musing to realise it was the same woman from her chemistry class. Nodding in agreement and shifting over to let the woman sit next to her, “Thank you. My name is Jade by the way” smiled Jade as she held her hand out for Ashe to shake. Reaching out to shake Jade’s hand, Ashe was mere inches from her hand when suddenly a shrill scream attracted their attention along with everyone else in the gardens.

Heading to the source of the commotion, Ashe and Jade found the source to be coming from the small group that formed before one of the smaller fountains surrounding Ravnica Hall. Feeling a sudden need to investigate further, Ashe left Jade at the edge of the crowd as she worked her way through the crowd until she found Teddy and the other guy, he was with during chemistry already at the fountain investigating. Shocked at the sight before her, Ashe held her hand over her mouth as she took in the sight before her. Tied around the centre pole of the fountain in some kind of crucifixion manner was a young male student with blonde hair, his shirt torn open to reveal a gruesome symbol of a setting sun carved into his chest as his blood slowly tainted the fountain water red.

“Alright everyone, please disperse as this is now an active crime scene” informed a woman as the students parted to let her through. Turning to see the source of the voice, Ashe was met with the sight of a red haired woman dressed in a crisp business suit with black fingerless gloves. As she walked past her, the woman spared a glance to the side at Ashe before walking up to stand beside Teddy. Feeling a strange want to help, Ashe took one step forwards, only to suddenly have a firm grip take her right wrist as she found herself being dragged away by Jade.

Despite numerous attempts to get Jade to slow down and explain what she was doing, she simply refused to turn and answer Ashe or even acknowledge her. Upon making it to one of the nearby carparks, Jade finally relented her pulling of Ashe as they slowed to a halt in the middle of the carpark. “What the hell are we doing here Jade?” demanded Ashe as Jade, with her hand still gripping Ashe’s wrist, still refused to turn and face her. Suddenly, a white van came screeching into the carpark and came to an abrupt halt before the two women. Realising her current situation, Ashe began retaliating against Jade’s hold, only for the other woman to chop the back of her neck with her hand, effectively knocking Ashe out before being thrown into the back of the van.

****

Suddenly finding herself endlessly falling, Ashe stumbled before setting herself upright as she tried to get her bearings as various sized lights gleamed past her as she kept descending. Upon inspecting the lights more closely, Ashe realised that they weren’t in fact lights, but were instead screen showing her various memories; some she recognised and others she could not. Before she could investigate the memory screens further, a twister of flames suddenly engulfed the edges of her surroundings as a colossal figure made of shadow appeared with a fiery outline.

Despite knowing full well she had never seen this large figure, Ashe was surprised to find herself oddly at peace with it, as if it were a part of her. “The time has come little ember” spoke a deep voice that appeared to resonate all around Ashe, “The time has come to remember”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really enjoying writing something new for a change!
> 
> Hoping you're all enjoying this and looking forward to where it goes in the future >.<
> 
> As always, thanks to the Betas for being awesome and please Kudo and comment anything you wish to happen :3


	3. Night of the Blood Baron

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having been captured and imprisoned by Jade for unknown reasons, Ashe awakes to find herself the latest to be sacrificed to the ancient Faerûnian known as the Blood Baron. Will Ashe be able to escape the Baron's clutches?

_**Unknown Location…** _

The sole sound of dripping water roused Ashe from her state of unconsciousness. Looking around at her surroundings, Ashe found she was currently being held within a cell completely carved from stone. Iron bars were situated along the sole opening of the cave along with a metal bed held by a set of diagonally sitting chains.

“Glad to see you’ve decided to join us” said a familiar voice as Ashe quickly turned towards the source from the bars. Standing there on the other side of the bars, was none other than Jade. Gone was her attire from earlier, replaced with a red and blue catsuit with golden circles on the arms and a strange golden apparatus on her right wrist. She also had two chisa katanas on her person, one strapped to her back and the other one the back of her waist, “Take it I’ve got you to thank for last night’s attack?” asked Ashe although it was a rhetorical question due to the way Jade was dressed.

“All will be revealed to you in due time” said Jade as she stepped to one side, revealing to Ashe that she wasn’t along. Emerging from the shadow was another figure, this time a male, dressed in the same catsuit as Jade, only they had a brown chest piece with golden bars on it and twin mounted blades on his forearms. What really struck Ashe however wasn’t his attire, it was his dirt blonde hair tied in a high ponytail: exactly like the fountain victim.

After being placed in cuffs by the masked man, Ashe was guiding down the dimly lit corridors by both him and Jade in silence. As the walls were lined with barred caves, Ashe spared glances into each cell as she passed to find several people imprisoned like herself. While some appeared human and other less so, they all had one singular characteristic; they all appeared to be slowly aging at an accelerated rate, “In order to survive, our master required the essence of those blessed by the Rift” explained Jade as Ashe continued to look between cells with increased worry. “And what do you get out of this?” asked Ashe as the three of them continued down the corridors. While not answering Ashe’s question, Ashe did realise she caused Jade to do some internal thinking from her now rigged stature.

Eventually making it to the end of the corridor, the passage suddenly opened out to reveal a large cave that stretched high into the sky with an opening to reveal the starry night sky. Along the walls of this great cave were several smaller opening, each one bared with aged individuals leaning against the bars. Directly in front of Ashe stood a narrow walkway of stone lined with tiki torches that opened out at the far end into a wide circular area in the middle of the cave. As Ashe was forced to walk down the walkway towards the centre, she noticed the appearance of the slowly increasing number of masks individuals all dressed in the same catsuit as Jade and the other man. Upon making it to the centre, Ashe was forced to kneel by the masked man as he moved away from her and Jade before turning his back on them, “We, the Cult of Blood, do hereby offer to our lord and saviour this Faerûnian soul so that you may rise once again and plunge the world into glorious chaos”

As the masked man outstretched his arms, a large explosion rocked the large cave as two pillars of fire surged forth from a set of large fire pits. With sudden addition of light, the other end of the large cave became visible to reveal a set of stairs leading up to a large throne, a large eight point star was painted in red behind upon the wall. Slumped upon the throne was what appeared to be a decaying corpse adorning a blue poncho with white markings and black robes underneath that covered the right side of its body like a monk’s robe.

A sudden flicker of red appeared in one of its eye sockets, “Who stands before the Blood Baron?” echoed an eerie voice that appeared to come from the corpse despite its mouth not moving. An eerie creaking noise filled the room as the corpse slowly released his grasp upon his throne to raise one of his decaying hands. As the corpse rose its hand, Ashe felt herself being drawn to it, as if her very blood wished to be with it. Suspended mid-air before the corpse, Ashe was unable to move a single muscle as her very blood betrayed her, “The conditions are met. Rejoice in knowing that tonight, Baron Vlad Dracul will walk the earth once more” announced the eerie voice as the surrounding cultists began to cheer.

Despite the growing pain of her blood wanting to leave her body, Ashe was unable to make a single noise as she was drawn closer to the Baron who slowly rose from his throne with another eerie creak resonating from him. Just when her pain was reaching unbearable levels, a thin broadsword impaled itself into the edge of the stairway before the Baron with a familiar figure, adorning a royal blue trench coat, appearing out of thin air to grasp the sword’s hilt.

Acting quickly, the figure in the trench coat turned and brought the sword with him in an uppercut motion, slashing the Baron’s hand off and negating the hold he had on Ashe’s blood. Feeling gravity take its hold once again, Ashe began to fall towards the stone stair she was floating over, only for a figure in a white wolf mask with red whisker marks to leap out from the crowd of cultists and safe her from injury. The figure wore a navy tunic with black cargo shorts, his bare feet were elongated, similar to the back legs of a wolf and had a silver tail swaying in the wind.

Landing towards the cave’s entrance at the far side, the masked man pushed Ashe towards the cavern as he turned to face the charging cultists, “We’ll hold the line here while you two get the prisoners out of here” said the masked man as he spared a glance back at Ashe as she was suddenly joined by another masked figure who emerged from the shadows. The figure appeared to be more feminine than the one in the wolf mask, adorned in a light brown karuta with only their right shoulder covered by a large armour panel. Their mask, while also white, appeared to resemble that of a demon with red fangs and horns protruding outwards.

As the cultists grew ever closer, the one in the demon mask pulled Ashe into the cave system, while the one in the wolf mask quickly thrust out his right hand with the palm facing the group. As he executed the thrust, the advancing cultists were suddenly pushed back by some unseen force, however it wasn’t enough to deter them.

****

Seemingly unfazed by the sudden loss of his arm, the Baron plunged his remaining hand into his chest with a sickening crunch. “Though you may be of Belmont descent, you and the son of Fenrir will not stop me from claiming that which is mine” said the Baron as he pulled from his chest his still beating heart. As the Baron raised his beating heart overhead, the cultists charging the wolfman suddenly froze as a thin red mist rose out around their masks before pooling around the Baron, the cultists collapsing in a heap. When the mist came into proximity with the Baron, it was suddenly sucked into his body as he slowly began rejuvenating his body from a shambling corpse into a pale middle aged man with long white hair, pointed ears and pure red eyes. As the rest of the mist was assimilated into the Baron’s body, he took his newly attached arm and crushed his beating heart between his hands. Separating his hands, the crushed heart began morphing to form a silver longsword with curved edge and a red midsection running the length of the blade.

“Now you face the true might of the Baron of Blood” said the Baron in a much younger voice than how the eerie voice sounded prior. He quickly lunged forward in attempt to thrust his sword through the chest of the man in the trench coat, only for it to be blocked by the man’s sword. As the Baron attempted to push past the other man’s sword to his target, the wolfman joined the fray as he leapt high into the air and hurled a white hand axe that forced the Baron to disengage as the axe flew past him and shattered upon impact.

While the wolfman and the other man were keeping the Baron occupied, Ashe and the masked woman were busy aiding the prisoners in escaping from their cells. After managing to get a minotaur out his cell, the unpleasant sound of cutting flesh caught the attention of the two women as they turned to the source of the commotion. Said commotion revealed itself to be Jade with katana in hand as she cut down the prisoners trying, and failing, to attack her while she calmly walked towards Ashe and the masked woman, “There is no escaping here. Surrender now and my lord may show you mercy once disposing of the two in the main hall” said Jade as she stood facing Ashe and the other woman.

As Ashe turned to face Jade in a western style showdown, a faint voice began echoing in the back of her mind as she began to walk towards Jade, only for the masked woman to step forward to stop her. “It’s alright Piper” said Ashe as she turned to face the masked woman, “We’re more than a match for this one” Turning back to face Jade, smoke and ash from the surrounding wall torches suddenly began enveloping Ashe as she advanced on Jade, who was slightly taken aback by Ashe’s strange display. As Ashe became more shrouded within the black soot and embers from the torches, the iron bars of the cells began violently shacking as she walked past, slowly warping as if trying to join the spiralling cocoon around her.

****

The fight between the Baron and the other two seemed to be in an endless stalemate. Every time the Baron lost a limb, he simply reattached it through intricate webs of blood before solidifying the excess into icicle-like projectiles and launching them towards the other two, forcing them to jump and strife out of the way. “We’re getting nowhere with this Gabe” said the one in the wolf mask after the duo evaded another barrage of projectiles from the Baron, who was currently retrieving his blade from the ground.

As Gabe and the wolfman prepared for another skirmish with the Baron, the cavern suddenly shook violently as streams of black smog illuminated by tendrils of ash seeped from the large entrance. From the cave entrance, the three of them were joined by Ashe however something seemed different about her. Appearing to be barefooted while also losing her shirt as she walked in with Jade suspended in some strange black mist, Ashe also revealed to the others she had suddenly sprouted a set of large black feathered wings, each tipped with a single talon also with two large horns protruding from her head with smaller spikes adorning her scalp. Every part of her exposed skin pulsed with light, as if her veins were filled with fire along with her usual green eyes being replaced by bright golden, staring intently at everyone present until they rested upon the Baron.

“Baron Vlad Dracul. For too long have you tipped the scales in your favour. For too long have you and your cult preyed upon Faerûnians. You blight upon this world end here and now” spoke Ashe however her voice appeared to sound warped as if it were more than one voice speaking. As Ashe raised her hand towards the Baron, tendrils of the glowing black smog snaked their way across the room, the Baron desperately swinging his blade in attempts to cease their advancement. Since the Baron was preoccupied with the tendrils, Gabe took the opportunity to teleport behind the Baron and with one clean swing of his blade, remove the Baron’s head with ease. Upon dispelling the tendrils around the Baron’s remains, his body immediately crumpled to the group, motionless.

With the Baron now lying defeated on the ground, Gabe and the wolfman breathed a momentarily sight of relieve; that was until they realised, they were joined by several figures that moved to surround the trio. “While beheading the master is pointless, you will all suffer for perverting our sacred grounds” said Jade, having somehow gotten herself free from Ashe’s grasp before instructing those around them to charge with a flick of her wrist before slowly backing away into the shadows. As soon as Jade gave the order, the surrounding cultists all charged towards the trio as Gabe and the masked man prepared to fight them off; only for the cultists charging for them to suddenly be pulled by an invisible force towards Ashe, who held a stoic and calm demeanour.

As the cultists drew closer to Ashe, they suddenly began to break apart before completely disintegrating when touched by her. “Your Baron wished for this power to be his, now he shall have the consequences” said Ashe as she continued to crumble the cultists who tried to stop her from advancing on the Baron’s body. Before Ashe could get to the corpse however, the masked man suddenly moved to block her path, “You’ve made your point Ashe, however all this senseless killing needs to stop. This isn’t what the Regiment stands for” pleaded the masked man, however when Ashe chose to ignore his request by disintegrating another cultist, the man outstretched his hand towards while grabbing the forearm of his outstretched hand in the other. Before the man’s hand appeared, a large blue circle made of light with indescribable runes floated within as three smaller circles spun round the edge.

From the large circle, a spiral of cold winds and snow shot forth towards Ashe, causing the advancing woman to suddenly slow down as her body was slowly covered in ice however it appeared the ice wasn’t enough, as Ashe was able to slowly break free of her icy restraints before more appeared. “Gabriel, any chance of a hand here?” called the masked man as he slowly backed away from the advancing Ashe, his mask slowly chipping away from the pressure. With great difficulty from the constant barrage of freezing winds, Ashe eventually managed to outstretch her hand towards the masked man and create a protective bubble around herself to halt the creeping ice from holding her.

“Those who aid the enemy shall receive no mercy from me” said Ashe as she focused her attention on the masked man, immobilising him as his mask continued to crack. Eventually the mask shattered into pieces, revealing the masked man to be none other than Teddy who look on towards Ashe with only the purest of fears written upon his face.

Realising who was under then mask, Ashe suffered for a moments hesitation and giving Gabriel enough of an opening to get behind her and smack the back of her head with the end of his sword, knocking her clean out. With Ashe now unconscious, the wings and horns adorning her person crumbled to ash as she fell into Gabriel’s waiting arms. Feeling his body being released from whatever hold Ashe had on it, Teddy fell to his knees as he gasped and spluttered from the air returning to his lungs. After taking a couple of minutes to compose himself, Teddy turned his attention towards the Baron’s corpse; only to find it had disappeared.

_**Tomb of the Sacred Hunters** _

Groaning from the mild headache that seemed to be forming, Ashe slowly cracked an eye open to find she was once again inside the Regiment’s Headquarters. Cradling her head as she sat up, Ashe caught the attention of those present in the room as Gabriel, Piper and Franklin came into view, “It would seem Lady Sinclair is still counted among the living. I shall fetch the master from his study” said Franklin as he turned towards the doors to the Professor’s study, leaving Ashe alone with the other two. “What was the last thing you remember?” asked Gabriel as he gave Ashe some water to drink while they waited for Franklin to return with the Professor, “While my memories of you lot and this place have returned, the last thing I properly remember was-” suddenly everything came back to Ashe all at once; from overpowering Jade and halting the Baron to almost crushing Teddy from the inside out.

“What the hell am I?” asked Ashe as she gripped her head and panted heavily as she tried to process the actions she committed, “Well for starters your Ashe Sinclair and you’re a student of Ravnica University” commented Teddy as he and the Professor exited his study with Franklin following closely behind. Seeing the guilt plastered all over her face, Teddy smiled as he walked up to Ashe and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, “Please don’t worry about what happened in the cave. Believe it or not, if much older than I look so have had my share of scary scenarios thanks to this place” said Teddy calmly as he smiled brightly at Ashe, who sheepishly smiled back as the weight of her guilt was lifted slightly off her chest.

****

“As I’m sure you have figured out by now, each member of the Regiment is either a Faerûnian or has at least had an encounter with one, so please rest assure you’re safe in these walls. Theodore here was born into a small Viking tribe of celts deep in the North of Scotland, where he was chosen by their Hunter God Fenrir to act as the tribe’s hunter, granting him the ability of lycanthropy and power of the frigid cold. Gabriel would have perished moments after birth, had his father not begged a witch to cast a spell on him, turning him into what modern folk call a vampire.

“Piper was meant to be sacrificed in a similar situation to your own Ashe, until she was rescued by a Kijo spirit that left an imprint on her very soul, effectively marking her as a Kijo herself. Franklin was created through the science of one Victor Frankenstein, who created him using various parts of other Faerûnian held together with various runes” explained the Professor as he revealed to Ashe what everyone was, “As for yourself Miss Sinclair, you are descended from the Phoenix Clans; the most ancient and powerful of the first Faerûnians to pass through the Nexus and into this world” Upon hearing this, Ashe felt strangely at peace with the knowledge, as if something were missing from her life, and knowing completed the puzzle.

“Should you join the Regiment, I promise to protect you and ensure to teach you everything about your Faerûnian heritage” informed the Professor as he held out his hand for Ashe to take.

_**Unknown Tomb…** _

The entire area was desolate and void of any life or light, save for the moonlight shining through the gaping holes in the ceiling of this ancient tomb. From the shadows, Jade emerged with the head of the Baron held firmly underarm as she strode down the walkway towards a long set of stairs. Upon reaching the peak of the stairs, Jade placed the Baron’s head down before bowing, “Your predictions have indeed come to pass my lord, the young Faerûnian has awoken her abilities and now trains to harness them with the Regiment” said Jade as she continued to bow her head.

Kneeling before her, held in place by multiple red chains embedded into point on their body, knelt a pale-skinned male humanoid with long white hair and long pointed ears. Strange black markings crept up his forearms from his black hands, like some sickness while the rest of his remained a pale white. He wore tattered black trousers with grey wrapping around his lower legs and ankles and a red sash tied round his waist with multiple belts. Deeply exhaling, the man released a small cloud of breath before cracking a smile, revealing his sharp teeth and blackened gums, “Soon she will be ready to ascend, and then the world will once again know the name of Aldorak and shudder in fear”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was originally going to have the cult incident in the previous chapter but thought against it to make is less of a reading slog. 
> 
> Got some more plot down and gonna see where the next few chapters are gonna go!
> 
> Wanna thank the Beta for being uber awesome, and as always Kudos and comments are always welcome :3


	4. Knight of the Hollow Murder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haunted by strange dreams of a man in a black mask, Garfield Crane attempts to go about his normal life with his job at The Lucky Gryphon while keeping his roommate, Theodore McCrimmon from worrying. But when the dreams become something more, will Garfield find it within himself to tell Teddy? And what does this sudden murder on Whitechapel have to do with this

**_Whitechapel, London_ ** **_1888…_ **

The night’s sky was already in full bloom as a young lad ventured down the quiet London street, only the gaslit lamp sitting every few meters held the cool night at bay. The lad appeared to be no older than 11 or 12 years old, dressed in a black trousers, white shirt with brown overcoat and paperboy cap as he ventured down the alleyway. “Garfield Ichabod Crane” said a firm voice as a hand grasped the lad’s shoulder, causing the lad to turn round in shock to find himself staring up at a police officer, “What the devil are you doing out at this time?” asked the officer as he placed his hands behind his back and sighed heavily, “There’s no one to frisk tonight anyway, little tealeaf. Go on get home, or Christ I’ll have yah” scolded the officer as Garfield bowed his head in acceptance and began walking back the way he came away from the man.

Looking back to ensure the police officer hadn’t followed him, Garfield quickly sat himself down next to a brick archway before reaching into his pockets and pulling out a silver pocket watch and chuckled, “Ain’t nobody to frisk aye?” laughed Garfield to himself as he opened the watch and inspected his newest possession. Suddenly, an ominous fog began swirling out from under the archway to Garfield’s right as the young lad looked on in silence. From within the depths of the fog, a young woman dressed in a barmaid’s attire flew and landed a few feet from Garfield’s current position, reaching out for the boy to help her. Seeing the vast amounts of cuts adorning the woman’s body and her face completely drenched in fear, Garfield quickly placed the pocket watch back into his pocket as he slowly approached the woman.

The sounds of distant footsteps made Garfield jump as he turned his attention back towards the fog, which slowly began to dissipate. From the end of the archway, Garfield was paralysed with fear as a man in a black face mask began walking under the archway. The man was dressed in a white dress shirt and trousers with an open redcoat with black underside and golden seems, buttons and a set of epaulettes. Around his waist sat a red with white lined sash holding a dagger towards his left hip, which he drew upon closing in on the woman crawling on the ground. As the man got closer to the Garfield and the woman on the floor, he immediately took interested in the young lad as he held the boy’s chin up with his free hand, “Curious” said the masked man as he dragged a single finger down Garfield’s face, “Are you the ripper sir?” asked Garfield out of fear as the man gasped and leaned forwards.

“Are you?” asked the man before he slowly began laughing manically and stepped away from the boy. All the while laughing, the masked man turned his attention back to the woman as he drove his dagger into her back. Letting his grasp go of the dagger now embedded in the now dead woman’s back, the masked man, all the while still laughing, turned to face the boy as he reached out with his bloody hand.

_**Ravnica University Dorms, London Present Day…** _

Lurching forward with a scream, the young man quickly surveyed his surrounding while getting his breathing under control. While he was getting his breathing under control, the door to the bathroom suddenly swung open as a bed headed Teddy bolted out and checked on his roommate, “Hey Gar, it’s okay. You’re safe here okay? Can you feel the bed for me?” questioned Teddy calmly as he slowly guided his roommate’s hand down onto the bed. “See, you safe here. Can you tell me your name?” asked Teddy as the other’s breathing began to return to normal parameters, “My name is Garfield Ichabod Crane and I am a history student at Ravnica University” said Garfield before turning and smiling at Teddy who smiled back before slowly getting to his feet, “Sure you’re going to be okay while I’m away? I can always tell them I’m busy and take the day off no sweat” offered Teddy but Garfield only smiled at his roommate’s offer.

“I’ll be fine Ted, honest. Besides if you tell them you can’t make it, the entire place would probably collapse in a matter of seconds” laughed Garfield as Teddy returned to the bathroom to freshen up for the day ahead.

****

Having finally managed to finally get Teddy to stop his stressing, albeit with the promise of texts during breaks, Garfield smiled up at the nice Saturday day while he made his was over to The Lucky Gryphon to start his shift. As Garfield entered the establishment, Ashe and Gabriel were walking down the main walkway towards Ravnica Hall. “I really don’t get your obsession with coffee Gabe” laughed Ashe as Gabriel continued to drink what she assumed was his fourth cup of morning brew.

During the weeks following Ashe’s encounter with the Cult of Blood, and her acceptance into the Regiment as their newest Faerûnian, she spent most of her time juggling the hectic schedule between university life and Faerûnian lessons. As it was a Saturday, Teddy was unavailable for lessons today, meaning Ashe had to be contempt with Gabriel and his fourth cup of coffee.

_**Tomb of the Sacred Hunters** _

“When the great cataclysm occurred and brought the two world together, it released an energy that now has incorporated itself into the very land we walk and the air we breathe” explained Gabriel as he outstretched his arm out with his open palm facing upwards, “As a Faerûnian, we have the unique ability to tap into this energy to cast spells, to conjure shields and weapons. To make magic” To make his point, blue flames suddenly burst forth from Gabriel’s palm for a couple of seconds before flickering out of existence.

“There are seven known Castes with regards to magic: Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion and Transmutation. While Faerûnians can cast spells from most of these types, each kind has a specified specialty they excel at than others. “For example, the Illusion Caste is my speciality, while Teddy’s is the Abjuration Caste and Piper, the Transmutation Caste. While not much is not of the Phoenix clan you hail from, we have reason to believe your proficiencies lie within the Evocation Caste” said Gabriel as finished his explanation of the lore of magic.

****

While Ashe and Gabriel were discussing the magic castes, the main doors suddenly burst open as a red haired woman dressed in a tight business suit with fingerless gloves stormed towards the Professor’s office. “Damn it James! Get your ass out here now” demanded the red haired woman as she closed in on her intended destination, the doors opened on accord of her proximity and quickly closed behind her. Recognising the woman from the fountain crime scene where Jade also abducted her, Ashe quickly turned to Gabriel who was currently cradling yet another cup of coffee, “I’ve been meaning to ask you guys, who is that woman? And Gabe, please tell me that’s not another cup of coffee” questioned Ashe as Gabriel spluttered out some of his freshly brewed coffee.

“Don’t mind Gabe here, we believe coffee is his answer to filling the void left after refusing to drink blood” laughed Piper as she and a bored-looking Franklin walked through the door Ashe and Gabriel were about to enter moments before the woman’s arrival, “As for the redhead, she is Detective Carmilla Em and liaises between Scotland Yard and the Regiment while spearheading their joint program from promising officers. Oh, and she also happens to be a Gorgon” revealed Piper with a shrug of her shoulders, causing Ashe to do a double take on Detective Em’s heritage.

_**The Lucky Gryphon, Ravnica Campus** _

After a calm morning of serving studying students and general members of the public with various foods and drink, Garfield was eventually allowed on his break as Doug, the manager of The Lucky Gryphon, took over the responsibilities of the bar. Taking his usual spot within the booth in the far corner, Garfield was preparing to dig into his tuna toastie and bottle of water while fetching his phone from his pocket. Smiling at the usual amount of messages from Teddy whenever he had a nightmare, Garfield went to respond to the latest when a sharp stabbing pain suddenly bombarded his right temple.

_**The Professor’s Office, Tomb of the Sacred Hunters** _

Despite Carmilla’s explosive entrance, Professor Van Helsing remained unfazed as he continued to read the large tome sat before him with a magnifying glass, “And a fine Saturday morn to you Detective Em, please take a seat” motioned the Professor without moving his attention away from the tome.

Ignoring Van Helsing’s gesture to sit, the detective slammed her palms upon his desk, causing the tome to jump slightly as the Professor sighed deeply through his nose, “Damn it all James! First the surge in cult activity and now this! You promised me that you had the boy under wraps” scolded Carmilla as she glared hard at the Professor, who looked up with confusion, “I’m not sure I follow-” started James before the Detective quickly pulled out a worn brown file from her jacket. “There’s been another incident on Whitechapel” replied Carmilla with a chilled tone as she handed the file over. Taking the offered file from Carmilla and opening it to see, James’ adopted a solemn expression very quickly, “But that’s impossible, there hasn’t been any activity with the boy in decades”

****

Hissing from the sudden migraine, Garfield squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment, only for the pain to suddenly disappear as quickly as it came. However, upon opening his eyes, Garfield found himself standing in a Victorian-esque alleyway with signs for Whitechapel clearly displayed high on the brick walls. Frantically looking round for any means of escape, Garfield found himself staring down a familiar looking archway as fog began to slowly creep from the other side. As the fog licked around Garfield’s feet, the distant sound of approaching footsteps paralysed Garfield in fear, “I’m getting closer Iggy” called an eerie voice from the fog as a man in a black mask appeared within, “Soon the time will come, and you will join me my fellow horseman of Conquest”

Lurching up with beads of sweat falling down his face and his eyes ever frantic, Garfield found himself staring up at his manager Doug with a very worried expression on his face, “Everything alright Gar? You dosed off for a bit but then started tossing and turning frantically” explained Doug as Garfield slowed his breathing right down. “Sorry Doug, been having a rough few nights sleep but should be fine now” said Garfield as he smiled up at his boss, although Doug remained unconvinced by Garfield’s statement, “Still, I think it’s best if you take the rest of day off. Don’t worry about us here, got plenty to keep us going for the time being, you just focus on you right now” said Doug as he stood from his crouched position and offered Garfield a hand.

Having relented to Doug’s wishes, Garfield made his way back towards his dorm to try and recuperate. While heading there, Garfield kept getting the sense that he was being watched as he kept turning to see behind him, only to find nothing there. Arriving at his dorm, Garfield quickly got to work packing his belongings in a frantic manner, no sense of order in his movements as he recalled the masked man’s words to him. Suddenly, Garfield felt the room begin to spin as he collapsed onto his bed. “You don’t want to leave yet Iggy, the fun is only just beginning” spoke the eerie voice from his vision back at The Lucky Gryphon as Garfield’s vision slowly began to darken.

_**Tomb of the Sacred Hunters** _

Despite knowing full well they had better stuff to be doing, Ashe and the others currently had their ears pressed against the Professor’s door trying to listen in on what gossip the Detective had brought him. Upon hearing the mention of Whitechapel, Piper and Gabriel both looked at each other with a knowing look while Ashe, clueless on their silent conversation, looked between the two before sighing heavily. “Is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on at Whitechapel?” demanded Ashe as Piper and Gabriel turned to look at her, “Why are you guys talking bout Whitechapel while hugging the Prof’s door?” asked a familiar voice as the trio quickly turned to find a confused looking Teddy standing in the main doorway. Before they could fill Teddy in on the details, the Prof’s door suddenly swung open, surprising them as Ashe and the others crowding the door backed up while the Detective and Professor walked into the room with solemn look on their faces when they saw Teddy.

****

“Scotland Yard has received word of an attack in the early hours of the morning” revealed the Detective as she called everyone around the central desk in the Professor’s study, the brown case file sitting closed in the centre, “The victim was a young woman whose throat appeared to have been slit while received abdominal mutilations, specifically the removal of multiple organs” Upon hearing the gruesome details of the woman’s death, Teddy immediately perked up as the Detective continued her debrief, “Was there anything found within the woman’s stomach?” asked Teddy as he stepped forward to inspect the images with a surprisingly calm demeanour.

“While there was nothing found within the stomach region, there was this instead” revealed Carmilla as she lifted an image of the woman’s chest, showing what appeared to be a set of scales carved into it. Seeing what was carved into her chest, Teddy immediately dropped the documents he was inspecting before bolting right out of the room with a confused Ashe looking for answers, “Could it be a mere coincidence that particular object was carved into her chest?” asked Gabriel as he traced his fingers over the scales.

“Hello, noob Faerûnian here” said Ashe, gaining the room’s attention as she gestured towards the doors Teddy just ran out of, “Whatever this is about clearly upset him, so as his friend I’d like to know what the hell is going on”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Doing a wee spin on a known classic, wonder if anyone's sussed out what it is yet...
> 
> As always, thanks to my Betas you're the best >.<
> 
> Please Kudo and leave your comments below if there's anything you wish to know about the series thus far :3


	5. Tale of the Whitechapel Rider

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Teddy frantically searching for his roommate Garfield, Professor Van Helsing takes it upon himself to reveal to Ashe and the others the secret behind Jack the Ripper and what his murders means for the human and Faerûnian world.

_**Ravnica University, London** _

Bursting out the main doors into Ravnica Hall, Teddy sprinted away from the Hall, his first destination; The Lucky Gryphon. Bursting through the front door, Teddy frantically walked round the establishment in search for something when Doug walked over to him with his hands outstretched to calm Teddy down. “Alright Ted take it easy. Why don’t you take a seat and we can talk about this okay?” reasoned Doug as he placed a reassuring hand on Teddy’s shoulder, “Sorry to barge in Mr. Cockle, but is Gar here at the moment?” asked Teddy while panting from his sprint from the Hall.

****

Back in the Tomb, the Professor had moved to his personal stack of books to retrieve something while the others brought Ashe up to speed, “During the time period 1888, there was a string of gruesome murders that occurred within the Whitechapel district. While they never successfully apprehended the killer, they would go on to be known as Jack the Ripper” explained Carmilla as the Professor returned with a large, dust covered tome bound in wrinkled leather. “That’s the story of the human world. Though the story for us Faerûnians is much different” Placing the tome on the central table where they were all gathered, which caused a layer of dust to fly into the air, the Prof. walked his fingers down the pages until finding the part he was looking for and opened the tome. “You see, the murders at the hand of the Ripper were no random at all. They were in fact part of an ancient sanction to summon forth The Ezekiel Clan; ancient beings more commonly known in the human world as the horsemen of the apocalypse”

****

“I’m afraid I had to send him home early lad” revealed Doug with a heavy sigh as he and Teddy sat in the very booth Garfield was in during his lunch, “He dozed off during his lunchbreak and began trashing frantically. Was bout to call for an ambulance till he suddenly woke with mighty fear in his eye. Told him to gae rest and that was last I saw of the lad” explained Doug, prompting Teddy to thank the older gent before quickly dashing out the bar towards the dorms.

****

“Once charged with protecting the balance between the humans and Faerûnians, four distinct members of the clan were augmented with unimaginable abilities to use in their charge with protecting the balance, thus the Riders were born. However, like all power, the Riders eventually became corrupted, turned on the very balance they were sworn to uphold and slaughters their fellow clanmates so none could oppose them” said the Professor as he revealed to the group ancient parchments written in a language Ashe did not recognised. The images showed four horsemen charging into vast armies at first, but they quickly changed to show the four standing over desolated fields with ripped flags and broken weapons and armour littered at their horse’s feet.

****

Racing up the stairs towards his and Garfield’s dorm, Teddy was hoping to find his roommate at the very least sound asleep. As he approached their door however, the hopeful thoughts were quickly dashed at the sight of the door sitting slightly unhinged. Cautiously moving past the broken door, Teddy entered their room to find the place had been thoroughly ransacked. Posters, pictures and various notes once pinned to the wall now lay in tattered ruins across the entire room. The pillows and duvet sets shredded with their entrails on the floor and upon closer inspection, the bed frame appeared splintered from a strong external force. However, it wasn’t the state of the room that frightened Teddy, it was what was on the walls.

****

“In order to prevent the Riders from shattering the very balance they once swore to protect, various members of the other Faerûnian clans banded together and banished the four to separate planes of existence. With the position of protector now vacant, the very members who banished the Riders formed what is known today as the Quiet Council; our superiors who oversee all things Faerûnian, and their Inquisitors who carry on the Rider’s charge as protectors” finished the Professor as he closed the large tome and returned it to its rightful place within his bookshelf. “However, we have reason to believe that one of the Riders has managed to loosen their shackles and orchestrated these murders as a means of returning to this plane and resurrect their brethren” added Carmilla as she produced more images that appeared to be from older cases, each one showing a woman with similar wounds to the one shown previously.

****

Gasping at what was upon their walls, Teddy immediately collected himself before fishing out his phone to take pictures of them. As he took one final picture, a sudden commotion from the bathroom alerted Teddy that he wasn’t alone and immediately went to investigate. Upon finding the door locked, Teddy used his latent Lycan strength and ripped the door from its very hinges, causing the person hiding in the bathroom to shriek at the display of brutish strength. Tossing the door to the side, Teddy sigh an immediate breath of relieve as his eyes fell on the shacking form the shriek came from. “I thought you told me you would be fine if I left” scolded Teddy as he crouched down and patted the shaking auburn mop that belonged to Garfield. The moment Teddy’s hand touched Garfield’s head, the other male’s hand quickly shot up to grab hold of Teddy as he raised his head to look at him. While Garfield’s iris colour was normally a silver colour, that wasn’t the current case as the entirety of his eyes were shrouded in white as they bore holes into Teddy’s own.

****

Having brought everyone up to speed regarding the history of the Riders, Van Helsing was about to move onto explaining Teddy’s sudden behaviour during the meeting when a crystal ball on the corner table by the bookcase began flickering, “Receiving communication from Grand Inquisitor Azazel of the Quiet Council” called the voice in a repeating fashion which grabbed the attention of the Professor and Detective Em. “We’d better answer this, you lot await us in the main hall in the meantime to see if Theodore returns” instructed Van Helsing as he quietly added another instruction to Franklin, “Ensure that we aren’t disturbed until Theodore returns” nodding to the Professor’s request, Franklin quickly lead the three out of the room, just as a brown skinned male with long black hair with white sides and scruffy beard appeared from the flashing ball.

The man wore a light grey tailcoat with various brown straps around his waist and a bandolier with a red scarf loosely wrapped over his shoulders. His black trousers were tucked into brown knee-high boots that themselves were covered by grey shin guards, “Ah Azazel, what can we do for the Quiet Council’s Grand Inquisitor?” asked Van Helsing as he and Carmilla pounded their left fist against the right side of their chest. Before Ashe or the others could catch the rest of the call, the doors closed behind them as four smaller corner runes surrounding one large rune in the centre appeared, indicating the room was now sealed from any external attempts.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Ashe turned her attention away from the door and onto Gabriel and Piper who stood towards the centre, “Since we’ve basically been side-lined till Teddy gets back from wherever he want, how’s about you guys help me with some magic training?” asked Ashe as the group shared a look before nodding in agreement to pass the time.

****

“Alright, let’s try this one more time” sighed Gabriel as he walked Ashe through the steps in creating a small flicker of flame appear in her hand. The two had been at this for a couple of hours now, and every time Ashe came close to producing the small flame, it would quickly burst out of control and slightly singe Gabriel, much to Piper’s amusement and the vampire’s chagrin. “Picture the flame appearing on your hand. Feel the heat slowly build as it flickers into life” said Gabriel as Ashe mustered as much concentration she possibly could on a single point on her left palm.

As a small flame flickered into existence in Ashe’s palm, someone burst through the main doors which caused Ashe to lose her focus as the small flame quickly grew out of control. Before the flame truly became out of control, Gabriel quickly stepped forward and covered Ashe’s hand with his own, dousing the flame as white smoke escaped through the cracks in his fingers. Giving Gabriel a mixed look of gratitude and apology, Ashe and the others quickly turned their attention to the source of the commotion that nearly burned the Tomb down. Standing in the midst of the doorway was a panting Teddy as he piggybacked an unconscious man over to the main table before lying him on top of it, completely ignoring the room’s stairs. After settling the unconscious male upon the table, Teddy wordlessly walked over to the Professor’s door when Franklin stepped before him to block his path, “The master will be informed of your arrivals once his talk with the Grand Inquisitor have concluded” announced Franklin with his voice booming with authority, causing Teddy to double back to check on the man on the table.

The man in question appeared to be no older than Teddy or Ashe in her eyes, although she knew looks could be deceiving considering her current company. The man before them had an unruly mop of auburn curls with silver highlights towards his fringe. He wore a black open front coat with a double buttons style down the front and folded cuffs with buttons. Underneath the coat, he wore a dull grey hoodie and plain navy tee, along with a set of faded black jeans with a tartan green pattern for the pockets and worn high-top canvas trainers. Upon seeing who Teddy had brought in, Gabriel quickly gave his friend a worried look while Ashe and Piper looked at him with confusion, “Gonna explain to us why you’ve just randomly decided to drag some random student into our secret base for the second time?” asked Piper with an annoyed tone evident in her voice.

However, before Teddy could utter a word of defence against Piper’s critical gaze, the runes on the Professor’s door suddenly dimmed before swinging open and Van Helsing with Carmilla in tow quickly joined the others. “Thank you for finding him for us Theodore, we’ll take over the explanation from here” smiled the Professor as a slightly tired looking Teddy silently nodded before stepping to the side and stood next to Gabriel who Ashe noticed still had the worried look on his face, “One night during the Ripper’s reign of terror on Whitechapel, a young orphaned boy found himself standing before him as one of his victim laid dying on the floor.

“For reasons unknown to us, the Ripper took particular interest in the boy and, after killing the woman, placed a mark behind his left ear” explained the Professor as he gently moved the boy’s head to reveal the small mark in the form of a crown, “It wasn’t until the First World War that the boy became known to us after he attempted to steal leftovers from Theodore who, after chasing the boy, discovered the boy’s Faerûnian heritage as a Polymorph; a creature who can alter their form at will. Taking a particular interest in the boy, Theodore kept tabs on the boy, until one day he was caught stealing from a nobleman and subsequently arrested. To prevent any harm coming to the boy and potentially revealing himself as a Polymorph to the humans; Theodore, under the guise of the boy’s elder brother, quickly paid for his release and the boy was placed in Theodore’s care.

“After bailing him out, Theodore took the boy to the market and bought enough food for the boy to last a while. However, after seeing how kind Theodore was to him for the first time in however long, the boy decided to remain with Theodore so, when the Regiment was formed under Churchill’s instruction, the boy enlisted as a spy due to his usefulness as street thief and Polymorph” said the Professor as he finished his explanation on the unconscious boy before the group, prompting Ashe and Piper to spare a worried glance at Teddy whose face screamed exhaustion.

****

“But what does this have to do with the Riders and the recent murder?” asked Carmilla as Teddy walked forth and spoke for the first time since returning with Garfield, “It was during the Siege of Schläfrig, a small village near the Belgium/Luxembourg border that was being used as a nest for Nazi Vampires, that we discovered what the Ripper had done to Garfield here” sighed Teddy as he brought over the crystal ball the Grand Inquisitor used to contact Van Helsing and Carmilla prior, “What I’m about to show you all is what happened that night, and why we need to ensure the Rider’s fail in reclaiming a foothold on this plane”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Giving you guys some more depth into the history of the characters, what do you think?
> 
> Next chapter will mainly focus on what happened during this Siege of Schläfrig, so hope y'all are looking forward to it :3
> 
> As always, wanna thank my Betas and ask for Kudos and comments on anything you wanna see incorporated as well as any questions >.<


	6. Siege of Schläfrig

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In order to better explain Garfield’s situation, Teddy reveals to everyone past events that transpired during the Second World War. Specifically, the siege of a small village that forever changed our young Lycan. What will showing a part of his past reveal to those of the Regiment, and what skeletons will be revealed?

_**Schläfrig Village, Belgium 1941…** _

The village of Schläfrig had always been a drab place with the grey clouds seemingly always overcasting the bleak wooden buildings along with the vast forests on the outskirts, not that the villagers seemed to care as they went about their usual routine. On one particularly drab morning, a small platoon of roughly 12 men, each in identical green uniforms, along with a horse drawn wagon trudged through the village’s main walkway lined by waist-height brick walls on either side, with the captain at the head of the group appearing to stand at an impressive 7 feet, wearing an olive jacket and blue tartan kilt.

Along with the captain of the platoon, three other individuals stood in line just behind him; one wore a navy jacket buttoned three quarters up with the top folded over a tartan sash to reveal a black shirt underneath along with brown combat trousers tucked into black boots. Another wore a blue undershirt with a black open front coat with a double buttons style down the front and folded cuffs with buttons, the same green uniformed trousers as the other men while the third man covered the majority of his self behind a turquoise trench coat, green trousers tucked into black boots and a light brown beret upon his head.

While the platoon trudged through the centre of the village, the Captain and the three other individuals behind him were instantly suspicious regarding the villagers behaviour: specifically regarding their panicked expression while fleeing the troops in favour of their homes. “Care to clarify if there’s anything out there McCrimmon?” barked the one in the kilt as the man in the navy jacket stepped forwards as he raised his face towards the sky and breathed in deep the scent of Schläfrig. “Seems clear for now Captain. There are some rogue scents in the area, but are too faint to confirm” reported Teddy as he turned back to the Captain, his eyes showing a brief glimpse of silver before reverting back to their original blue.

“Alright then, we know from prior reports that Schläfrig Village is a staging ground for a vampire nest and that they are in league with the Nazis. “However, the location of the entrance remains a mystery so for now we’ll be stationed here as a mounted defence until the location has been determined” said the Captain as he barked his orders to the platoon before him, splitting them into groups and pointing towards various buildings around the Village. “Remember, while being amongst the lowest of the Vampire Tiers, Thralls still have tremendous strength and reflexes, not to mention that it’s known they have Fiends under their control.

“Only weapons of magical descend such as silver or fire can cause any permanent damage to them in replacement to prolonged exposure to direct sunlight” called the Captain as the soldiers got to work unloading long wooden crates from the wagon and into the nearest location that was defendable and vacant; an abandoned barn.

****

As the platoon got to work unloading the wagon into the barn, Teddy and the other two individuals he was standing with began patrolling the rest of the village in attempts to find any vantage points or locals for information. Upon reaching the main square, the smallest of the trio caught a glimpse of someone ducking into the church sitting upon the hill and decided to rush over to investigate, much to Teddy’s protests. Quickly catching up with their third member, Teddy and the man in the trench coat were suddenly overwhelmed by the sudden stench of decay and sound of flies buzzing around as the three slowly advanced on the church.

Upon hearing indescribable mutterings coming from within, Teddy nodded to the others as he slowly searched the surroundings for a means to investigate further while the other two remained stationed by the main door. Discovering the windows were all boarded up, Teddy was about to return to the others when something suddenly thumped hard against the wall next to him, enough to cause some of the more weathered pieces to break away to show what was happening inside.

What once appeared to look like your average village church, the interior had been vastly perverted with multiple symbols etched into the walls and various piles of rotting corpses littering various points in the once grand building. Illuminated by the flaming piers, several individuals in a very familiar black uniform were hunched over one of the corpse piles, appearing to be feasting on the remains while Teddy’s attention moved onto the other presence in the room. Standing at the far end of the room staring up at the large cross, was an unknown gentleman with white hair and wearing a crisp black suit. As he turned to face the others in black, Teddy caught a glimpse of the man’s misty grey eyes, “Report your progress with the townsfolk” spoke the man with a distinctively British accent which caught Teddy off guard while the feasting soldiers turned to give him their fullest attention.

“The stratagem advances as you predicted Das Sterben. We have received word of the Allies Regiment arriving and will descend upon them under the cover of darkness” said one of the soldiers, pieces of flesh handing from the corner of his mouth as he broke into a sickening grin, “We still are unsure to why you wish for the boy Das Sterben” questioned another soldier, causing the suited man to momentary lose his composure as his eyes flashed an emerald green.

“Your little Führer would have long lost this war had it not been for my services. You will do well to remember your place and not question your orders” boomed the man as the surrounding soldiers cowered before hm as an unknown energy seemed to be emanating from the gentleman in the suit. “Glad you understand, now we have guests outside, please show them in” spoke the man in the suit with a much calmer tone as he turned to stare directly at the hole Teddy was looking through, causing the lad to jolt back and run towards the others.

Bursting forth from the church’s main door believing to find the spies, the soldiers were dumbfounded to find there was no one in sight as they slowly closed the doors and returned to the man in the suit.

****

Quickly making their way through the village back to their platoon, the two who were watching the church’s door continued to give Teddy strange looks while his head was on pivot between the surrounding buildings. Everything became much clearer to them when the wooden panels covering the windows suddenly burst open and various pale, eyeless humanoid creatures in villager clothing descended upon them. Acting quickly, the man in the trench coat leapt between the duo and the descending Fiends, as a set of bony tendrils shot forth from his back and piercing the Thrall’s heads.

As the man in the trench coat landed after impaling the Fiends, he tore off the ruined coat to reveal himself to be a shirtless Gabriel with pointed bat ears, orange-gold eyes and ashen skin with a red tattoo going down the majority of his upper body. The sound of snapping bones filed the air, as the tendrils sprouting from Gabriel’s back slowly unfurled into large bat-like wings, “I’ll see to these Fiends, your two focus on getting to the rest and warning them” ordered Gabriel as more Fiends burst forth from the surrounding buildings, saliva drooling from their mouths in a feral manner before charging at Gabriel like rabid dogs.

Silently agreeing with Gabriel, Teddy quickly grabbed the other soldier and firmly placed him on his back while his legs quickly tore through his trousers as they elongated into wolfish hind legs and the two shot off towards the barn.

As the sight of the barn came into view, Teddy and the soldier were shocked to find the platoon were surrounded by the same eyeless creatures that they left Gabriel to fend off, with the Captain in the centre attempting to fend them off. “You help Captain Minos while I secure the perimeter with the others” said the soldier on Teddy’s back, “Garfield we should-” replied Teddy, preparing to argue with the younger lad, however Garfield had already leapt from his back and was hightailing it towards the barn, picking up two bayonets in the process and slicing through a couple Fiends en route.

Sighing and shaking his head at Garfield’s reckless attempt at heroics, Teddy was quickly brought out of his musing as a Fiend’s body flew overhead and his attention was once again centred on Captain Minos. Easily towering over the feral Fiends surrounding the barn, Captain Minos had long tossed his olive coat aside and was currently beating the Fiends into bloody pulps with his bare hands. Clenching his hands into fists, save for his index and pinkie which stood to attention, patches of the air around Teddy slowly began to terraform into small white clouds which morphed into large icicles that floated around him.

Raising his hands towards the fight between the Captain and the Fiends, the icicles surrounding Teddy all aimed in that direction before suddenly firing off in a projectile manner, cleanly slicing through any Fiends in their path and gaining the attention of the rest.

As a couple of the Fiends broke of their assault on the Captain, Teddy recalled some of the icicles he sent the Captain’s way while dodging their feral swings with ease. Quickly dispatching the Fiends before him, the sudden sound of a gunshot rang through the field, as Teddy quickly turned to find a Fiend was about to bite him when someone had shot it cleanly from temple to temple as mercury-like blood seeped from the bullet holes. Sparing a glance towards the barn, Teddy noticed Garfield cocking another round into a rifle as the two shared a quick finger salute before Teddy rushed on to aid the Captain, Garfield peppering the surrounding Fiends with bullets to provide a safe route for Teddy to follow to his destination.

“Good to see you and Crane’s timing is as impeccable as ever McCrimmon” said Captain Minos with a small smile as he crushed a Fiend’s head in one hand and using its remains as a means to swat another few, “So, tell me what you managed to find while patrolling the village” “We believe that we’ve found the entrance to the nest hidden within the local church however, there’s a more pressing matter we need to deal with sir” reported Teddy as he morphed an icicle into a thin circular piece of ice and motioned it to decapitate more Fiends before firmly impaling it into the ground.

He then motioned with his hands for the piece of ice to expand into a large sheet, preventing more Fiends from gaining access to the area. “While investigating the nest, we discovered the Nazis are in fact in league an unknown individual dressed in a black suit” finished Teddy, earning him a wide eyed facial response from the Captain as the duo returned to the barn, “And you’re certain that it’s him?” asked the Captain, to which Teddy gave him a silent nod of approval.

****

As the platoon took stock of the ammo used in the skirmish against the Fiends, Gabriel quickly swooped in through the opening in the roof and landed before Teddy and the Captain, “I made a quick sweep of the village before returning, and it would seem the majority of the villagers have been turned into the Fiends we see before us” reported Gabriel as he slowly reverted to his more humanoid form, his wings snapping back into place. “Judging by how feral they were, I’d wager they were turned within the last fortnight. This appears to coincide with the reports we received off the front lines regarding Fiends” added Garfield as he jumped down to join the group as they thought up their next plan of attack.

“Captain, you’d better come and see this sir” called one of the soldiers, snapping the four from their respective trains of thought as they moved to investigate.

Upon exiting the barn to see what the commotion was about; the Captain and the others were put on edge by the unsettling sight before them. Where just moments ago, Fiends were trying to scrambled over one another to overcome the ice wall, now appeared barren with no sign of the Fiends anywhere.

Suddenly, wisps of black smoke began snaking their way from the very building of the village and slowly crawled up the wall of ice Teddy had erected to halt the now vacant Fiends with flashes of ambers within. As the smoke slowly continued to climb the wall, a thin beam of emerald energy suddenly shot forth, piercing through the wall and finding its intended mark of Teddy’s left shoulder. While Gabriel and Garfield tended to Teddy, an unknown force became apparent the minute the hole was created in the wall.

Said force made itself known as the surrounding soldiers suddenly felt their weapons being pulled towards the encroaching mist which began to spin until a small cyclone of smoke and ash formed outside the wall. Unaffected by the pull from the cyclone, the Captain quickly got to work trying to aid his platoon as some unwilling flew into the barrier, causing more cracks to appear as pieces of it were also sucked into the unnatural vortex. Eventually, even the wall could no longer take the strain of the vortex’s pull on one side with soldier and weapons colliding on the other, causing it to collapse into the vortex and leave the remaining members of the platoon vulnerable.

With the barrier now dealt with, a figure with white hair and dressed in a black suit suddenly walked forth from the cyclone, his attention seemingly on tugging at his black gloves before turning to face the group before him. “You have made a grave mistake in coming here agents of Faerûn. Not only have you interrupted a ritual decades in the making, but you have also unwillingly set in motion a possible Tartarus Level Event” spoke the man as he slowly walked towards the downed Teddy, completely ignoring the Captain and Gabriel as the two charged straight for him.

While Gabriel once again transformed into the grey creature with bat-like wings, the Captain suddenly sprouted a pair of horns from his forehead as he became covered in a layer of brown fuzz to resemble that of a Minotaur. Clasping his large hands together, the Captain aimed to bring his joined hands down upon the man, only for his assault to suddenly bounce off some invisible barrier above the man. Seeing the Captain’s failed attempt to stop the man, Gabriel took in a deep breath before belching out a large plume of fire that engulfed the still advancing man with the Captain also releasing his own plume of fire to add to Gabriel’s towering inferno.

****

While Gabriel and the Captain were occupied with the man in the suit, Garfield was more focused on Teddy, who was currently tossing and groaning from the wound in his shoulder. Acting quickly, Garfield took Teddy’s jack to better inspect the wound, only to find a black substance surrounding the entry wound that appeared to be slowly crawling away from the wound. Seeing the anguished and sweat drench face Teddy was making, something deep within Garfield snapped as his slowly rose from his position next to Teddy before turning to face the small skirmish between Gabriel, Captain Minos and the man in the black suit.

Feeling an unknown yet familiar feeling well up within him, Garfield outstretched both arms to the side as a wave of green and purple energy suddenly cascaded forth from his position, sending both Gabriel and the Captain flying while causing the suited man to stumble to his knees.

“Interesting” commented the man in the suit as pushed himself back on his feet and began walking towards Garfield and Teddy once again, until he was hit with a sudden wave of something foreboding, forcing him to fall to his knees once again; unable to move. Allowing the strange feeling from within to continue coursing through his body, Garfield began to grow in size as his skin slowly morphed into an eerie purple colour as his hands melded into four fingered claws, his skin began rippling to resemble the outlines of several distorted faces, all appearing to be silently screaming. His face began to elongate as multiple eyes appeared in various places atop his head and glowing dreadlocks sprouted from where his hair was meant to be, both glowing with the same green and purple energy he had expelled previously.

“So you finally came out to play” said the man in the suit as he wiped his brow of the sweat slowly trickling down the side of his head, no doubt sensing the enormous energy Garfield’s form was currently expelling. Seeing the form Garfield had taken, Teddy slowly attempted to get to his feet as Garfield slowly began marching towards the man, only to be beset upon by two pale men in black uniforms as they charged at him with blinding speed.

Teddy was about to cry out for Garfield, only to watch as one of the Nazi Thralls were cleaved in two at the midsection while the other was suspended mid-air by an unknown force. Struggling in vein to break free of whatever held him in place, the remaining Thrall suddenly felt a pain in his abdomen which he looked to investigate as his body was blasted apart from within.

“Well this truly is an interesting turn of events. I would applaud the show, but my current situation prevents me from doing as such” said the man with an obvious hint of humour in his tone as Garfield loomed over him, panting heavily as his several eyes bore animalistic urges when looking down at the man. “No… More…” said Garfield, although it came through very slurred, showing a very limited intelligence with Garfield’s new form. Slowly raising one of his clawed arms above his head, Garfield was about to bring it crashing down upon the man when he suddenly found Teddy standing between the two, “Come on Gar, you’re better than this. You’ve got to fight these impulses; I believe in you” pleaded Teddy as Garfield slowly lowered his hand to his side as he slowly regressed back to his human form.

As Garfield returned to his human form, the man in the suit slowly got his feet before setting about fixing any creases and straightening his tie, “I won’t push much farther on this day, you have given me much entertainment. However, be warned that there will come a time when you must choose young Lycan; between the boy and your duty” said the man before he turned and walked back into the mists from whence he came.

****

With the immediate threats dealt with for the time being, Teddy breathed a sigh of relieve before stumbling into Garfield’s arms, “Either Zobek improved his poison, or I’m really out of practise with my detox” sighed Teddy as he positioned himself, so he was leaning against Garfield’s shoulder for support. “I’ve made my decision” said Garfield as Teddy turned to give him his attention, “I want you to erase my memories; everything from the Ripper to what I’ve done for the Regiment. That should give you time to figure this out” smiled Garfield as Teddy looked at the lad in stunned silence before finally finding his own voice.

“There’s no guarantee that erasing your memories will affect whatever Zobek is talking about! For all we know, it could cause something even worse” argued Teddy but Garfield seemed pretty set, “I was chosen to be the Rider of Conquest, how can I be that when I don’t even remember I’m Faerûnian” retorted Garfield as Teddy remain apprehensive in a moment of silence before exhaling a heavy sigh.

“If we are going to go through with this, I’m at least having you remember our bond as brothers little tealeaf” said Teddy as he reluctantly placed his hands on Garfield’s temples before closing his eyes in concentration. ****

_**Tomb of the Sacred Hunters, Present Day…** _

The entire room was deathly silent as no one dared speak while the images from the crystal slowly faded away. Sparing a glance at Teddy, Ashe was hardly surprised to find the defeated look dominating his face as she walked over and silently hugged her friend. As the group gathered themselves from what they had just witnessed, an eerie sound of slow applause echoed through the Tomb as they all turned to the main door to find Zobek, still wearing the same black suit as he did in Schläfrig and appearing to have not aged a day, “It truly does the mind wonders to take a trip down memory lane doesn’t it” sighed Zobek as he ceased his applause and returned his hand to behind his back.

“What the hell are you doing here” hissed Teddy as white mist began rolling him to indicate the start of his Lycan transformation, “Well for one I was invited, as it stands to reason that I am the only being capable of preventing the Rider’s return” replied Zobek as he bowed his head towards the Professor, earning him a shocked look of betrayal from Teddy and Gabriel. “And what is it you can do that we can’t?” asked Ashe as Zobek walked over to the still unconscious Garfield currently lying on the stone slab, “For starters, I was the one to show the then Quiet Council how to bind the Riders to their Planes” revealed Zobek as he took a few steps back and bowed before the group.

“Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Zobek Schwarz; founder and Priest of the Sterben Brotherhood and the sole remaining member of The Ezekiel Clan”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what'd you guys think of dem juicy plot apples?
> 
> The plot thickens as we're introduced to a man who claims to be from a supposedly extinct clan... 
> 
> As always, please leave Kudos as well as any comments on anything you wish to see improved or added :3


	7. March of the Riders - Call to Arms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the sudden appearance of Zobek and the Ripper resurfacing in Whitechapel, the regiment must split into two teams; one to save Garfield from Conquest while the other heads off to battle the Whitechapel Rider of War. Will Teddy be successful in rescuing Garfield from Conquest's clutches, and just what is Zobek's plan...

**_Tomb of the Sacred Hunters, Present Day…_ **

The entire room was coated in a deathly silence as no one dared move a muscle in fear of setting Teddy off on a feral rampage against their current ‘guest’, “How in the nine realms are we supposed to trust you of all people?” questioned Teddy with an obvious sneer in both his voice and facial features as he halted his transformation and Zobek’s subsequent slaughter.

“Whether you trust me or not is irrelevant, what matters is we prevent the Rider’s return by any means” replied Zobek as he calmly positioned himself at the head of the table where Garfield’s head was currently resting. As he came into proximity with Garfield, the Tomb was suddenly met with a violent shaking with Garfield thrashing violently on the table.

“The Rider of Conquest within the lad is reacting to the other Rider’s sacrifices” explained Zobek as loomed over Garfield, “If we do not sever the link between the Rider and this boy, then another Rider will walk the Earth and we will be powerless to stop their return” As Zobek moved his hands from behind his back towards Garfield’s neck, a fully transformed Teddy quickly launched forwards, his fist clenched and poised to connect with the right side of Zobek’s face; only for it to be caught in a gloved hand.

****

The hand that had caught Teddy’s belonged to a young male with black hair with streaks of red and gold within his fringe and golden eyes with black sclera. He appeared no older than Teddy himself dressed in a crisp butler suit, comprised of black trousers, a six-buttoned double-breasted tailcoat along with a grey vest, complete with a pair of white gloves and silver pocket watch attached to a chain.

“Impeccable timing as always my Steward” said Zobek as his hands continued their descent to wrap around Garfield’s neck, only for his wrists to be clasped in the iron hold of Franklin, “You know that we simply cannot allow you to murder one of our own” said Van Helsing as he calmly walked over and placed a hand on the Steward’s shoulder as a sign for him to release Teddy.

Turning back to face Zobek for confirmation, the white haired man silently nodded to the Steward to release Teddy, who promptly held his place next to the table. The room remained in a state of immense tensity until Carmilla made her presence known by clearing her throat, “While you lot were busy debating, I’ve got another lead on the other Rider in the form of another crime scene” announced Carmilla as she turned her attention towards Van Helsing, “The report was only just made so there may be a chance of catching this guy if we’re fast”

“That settles it then; one team will investigate this crime scene in hopes of catching and imprisoning the Whitechapel Rider, while the other will remain here with me in hopes of finding some way to remove the Rider’s influence from Garfield without killing him” instructed the Professor.

****

With the instructions given, Carmilla and James moved to stand separate from one another and awaited the rest to join their team(s). Unsurprisingly, Teddy moved to join the Professor’s team while Gabriel and Piper moved to the Detective’s with the surprise of Zobek’s Steward joining them and Zobek himself going to the Professor’s, leaving only Ashe and Franklin undecided. Noticing the conflict in Ashe’s eyes, Teddy gave her a warm smile before nodding over towards Gabriel, “Go with them, and show off just how badass you can be” smiled Teddy as Ashe quietly laughed at his comment before joining the group.

“If it’s all the same to you sir, I will remain here simply to ensure the mess afterwards is properly attended to” commented Franklin, “No doubt there will be quite the mess of body parts when this inevitably goes wrong” prompting a small chuckle from the Professor and the others who knew Franklin’s ‘odd’ sense of humour.

With the teams set and their assignments known, Carmilla lead her group from the Tomb while the other group got to work preparing the ritual to enter Garfield’s psyche.

**_Carmilla’s Group, Whitechapel…_ **

The ride from the campus to the scene was eerily quiet, mostly due to Gabriel calmly staring at Zobek’s Steward who merely replied back with an innocent looking smile and Piper quietly thinking to herself with an intense chin scratch, “So do you have a name at all?” asked Ashe to the Steward in attempts to fill the awkward silence, seemingly catching him off guard with the simply question as he turned to face her with a shocked and confused expression. “What an odd question to ask. Why on Faerûn would wish to know that?” asked the Steward to which Ashe merely shrugged, “Because it’s polite to know someone’s name and you seem like you could use a friend. My name is Ashe by the way” answered Ashe as she gave the Steward a warm smile, further adding to his confusion.

“I apologise Lady Ashe, but I am unable to divulge such information to you” said the Steward, making it Ashe’s turn to be confused, prompting Gabriel to fill in the blanks, “Black Butler here is an Arverni, they’re basically demonic Faerûnians. They’re known to wield unique magics and abilities unknown to other Faerûnians as well as being tricksters and a general nuisance” explained Gabriel, “For this Zobek to have such a character in his employ, must speak volumes of his talents” muttered Piper aloud as she continued to scratch her chin, deep in thought and seemingly unaware (or uncaring) that the others were staring. The group’s tension-filled atmosphere was abruptly interrupted as the transport quickly veered to a halt, prompting a confused look from all.

Deciding to investigate the reasoning behind the Detective’s sudden stop, Ashe and the others all exited the transport to suddenly find themselves surrounded in a thick blanket of fog, “Keep your wits about you. From the records Garfield gave us the night he encountered the Ripper; these are the exact conditions he described before he made his appearance” said Carmilla as she exited the driver’s seat and joined the others.

**_Tomb of the Sacred Hunters, James’s Group…_ **

With the Detective and her group off to face the Whitechapel Rider, the Professor and the remaining individuals got to work finding a way to separate Garfield from the Rider of Conquest, “From what I saw during the Siege of Schläfrig, when Gar manifested the Rider, he gained considerable mental prowess” informed Teddy as the Professor and Zobek pondered on this snippet of information. “That does fit with what we know of the original Rider” said Zobek as he began explaining himself, “The Rider of Conquest was granted immeasurable mental abilities to temper even the most intense of resolves into submission. During the Rider’s downfall, he was known for ‘seeding’ his victim’s minds with psychographs so he could control them at a later time”

“So what you’re saying is, the Ripper ‘seeded’ Conquest into Gar’s psyche?” questioned Teddy, gaining a nod of acknowledgement from the white haired man, “Well looks like we’ve got some mind-diving to do”

**_Whitechapel, Carmilla’s Group…_ **

As the group kept a sharp eye out for anything within the surrounding fog, Ashe noticed a silhouette appear before her as she caught everyone’s attention. Walking through the fog, the group were met with a strikingly tall man with his face completely covered by a black mask and completely bald.

In terms of clothing, the man appeared to wear a very aged redcoat jacket with black folded cuffs, white double button style down the front and a set of grimy looking epaulettes upon his shoulders. His white shirt underneath was stained a dirty grey that tucked into his equally aged and stained trousers with worn out leather knee-high boots. Unbefitting for his redcoat appearance, the man had a pistol holster strapped to his left leg and a modern bandolier holster sitting diagonally from his left shoulder to right hip, filled with various shotgun shells for the shotgun that could be seen protruding from a back holder on his right shoulder. As the masked man continued his advance towards everyone, the surrounding fog suddenly began lifting, revealing to the group they were now standing in a Victorian-esque street dimly lit by a string of streetlamps. Looming behind the masked man was a stone archway that seemed to be the source of the fog as it licked round the man’s worn boots.

“Nothing can stop the return of the Riders! Nothing and no one!” bellow the masked man as he dipped his right hand into the fog for a brief moment, bringing with it a broadaxe with two large blades on top and two smaller blades appearing just under the handle. Twirling the axe with a veteran’s expertise before clutching it in both hands, prompting the edges of the blades to glow with an intense heat.

**_Tomb of the Sacred Hunters, James’s Group…_ **

After some debate on the probability of succeeding, Teddy obviously wasn’t listening to the two elder men rant for 20ish minutes, the group were almost ready to send Teddy into Garfield’s mindscape to battle this ‘seed’ of Conquest, “While you’re inside Mr Crane’s psyche battling Conquest, do try to keep the collateral to a minimum so Mr Crane actually has a mind to return to” explained Van Helsing as he situated Teddy into a seated position next to Garfield, who had calmed from his thrashing but was now running a temperature and sweating profusely. With Teddy now sitting adjacent to Garfield, Franklin stepped forwards and placed one of his oversized hands on Teddy’s shoulder while the other gently cupped Garfield’s head, “I’ll be acting a medium to link your mind with his. Hopefully neither of heads will burst from the surge, I’d hate to clean that up” commented Franklin as Teddy rolled his eyes at Franklin’s main concern.

With everything now in place, Teddy closed his eyes as Franklin began sending intermittent pulses between the two in attempts to link their minds.

**_Garfield’s Psyche…_ **

When Teddy open his eyes, he found himself floating in what appeared to be an endless veil of pink clouds with the occasional spark of lightning jolting between the lower and upper levels of cloud belts. Quickly descending into the clouds below him, Teddy found himself battling powerful winds until he finally broke through to the area below. Underneath the clouds, a vast expanse of mountainous regions with the various tips acting at lightning rods for the various sparks of electricity exiting from the pink clouds Teddy just exited himself. Teddy was about to descend and begin his search for Garfield and the Seed of Conquest when the werewolf was suddenly engulfed in light as he was struck by a sudden bolt of lightning.

**_Whitechapel, Carmilla’s Group…_ **

The minute the Rider revealed himself, Gabriel and Piper quickly leapt into action with their weapons drawn, only to be expertly deflected by the Rider’s twirling his broadaxe in hand. Backing away from the Rider, Carmilla suddenly appeared behind him through the fog wielding a pair of curved daggers aiming to behead the Rider in a cross movement. With the daggers mere inches from his neck, the Rider suddenly ducked forwards causing the Detective to miss her target and barrel roll to turn back and face her advisory, “To think this time would be polluted by so many inferior Faerûnians. My brothers and I shall indeed be busy once we are reunited upon this plane” cackled the Rider as he rose his axe to point at Ashe, “Starting with the pretty birdy over there”

Before anyone could so much as blink, let alone stop him, the Rider slipped past everyone with axe poised in a downward slash, about to cleave Ashe in half; only for the downward slash to be abruptly intercepted by the back of a large, grey metallic coloured claw that belonged to the Steward, “Apologies, but I have taken an interest in Lady Ashe and would find it most troublesome if she were to expire suddenly” commented the Steward with a sly smile ever present upon his face as the Rider leapt back to create some distance between the two.

“You see, your prior statement of needing a friend still confuses me, and after we conclude business here, I would wish for you to explain this along with the strange notion I currently feeling in my midsection” revealed the Steward as he straightened all his fingers on his remaining humanoid hand as they morphed to resemble black elongated gauntlet fingers. Coating the axe head in flames, the Rider quickly closed the gap between him and the Steward, only for the Steward to calmly dodge his swings with the skill and grace of a seasoned fighter and at times block blows with his enlarged metallic claw. After a few flurries of the axe, the Rider quickly poised the axe the split the Steward’s head in two, only for him to tilt to the side which marked his change in stance from defensive into offensive.

****

Seeing his opening, the Steward thrust forth his elongated gauntlet fingers as they scraped against the right side of his mask, causing sparks to shoot from where the metals met. To everyone else, the Steward and Rider were locked in a thrilling dance, each exchanging blows with none really hitting anything critical on the other as the either blocked or dodged with the Rider’s latest attack being blocked by the Steward’s large metallic claw.

“I must admit I wasn’t expecting such an opponent however, this is the part where I get serious” said the Rider calmly as he used his feet to push away from the Steward mid-air and land a few feet from where the Steward himself landed. Keeping his broadaxe in his right hand, the Rider reached overhead with his left to retrieve a rusted sawed-off shotgun with chain-like carvings morphed into the body. “Hell’s burst” muttered the Rider as he pulled the trigger, releasing a large plume of flames that barrelled its way towards the Steward, effectively engulfing him in flames as the others shielded their eyes from its intense brilliance. As the light from the flames quickly died away, Ashe was concerned for the Steward’s status after receiving such an attach however, as the smoke from the attack began to dissipate, everyone was surprised to find the Steward lightly chuckling to himself while appearing unharmed with black wings overlapping before in attempts of a shield.

“I suppose something of that caliber is to be expected of a Rider” chuckled the Steward as his wings unfolded from their place before him, “While I’m not complaining, the fact his attack had no affect is unreal” said Ashe as a passing comment as the Steward began rubbing his right arm, “Oh I wouldn’t go that far, his flame attack did hurt and I’m in a fair amount of pain but that won’t stop me from finishing this” said the Steward in response to Ashe’s comment as he suddenly disappeared from view, only to appear before the Rider with his metallic claw poised to strike his neck.

**_Tomb of the Sacred Hunters…_ **

Zobek allowed a small smirk to appear upon as he sensed how the battle against the other Rider was fairing through his link with his Steward. After they had left and Teddy entered Garfield’s mindscape, Zobek and the Professor had been met with an uncomfortably eerie silence as if a sinister plot were unfolding. Van Helsing was currently attending to matters within his office, leaving Zobek alone in the main hall where Teddy, Franklin and Garfield were situated. Sensing the time was now, Zobek advanced towards the table that Garfield laid upon, summoning a blade comprised of emerald energy.

“With this blade, I end the return of the Riders for good” muttered Zobek as, in a single motion, brought the energy blade overhead and was about to behead Garfield, when it was suddenly blocked by the ridged blade of a golden tipped broadsword, “Well I guess I have you to thank for a free dinner with the Detective” sighed Van Helsing as he pushed Zobek away from Garfield with his broadsword. With Van Helsing now between him and his intended target, Zobek began slowly circling the table in attempt to find an opening in Helsing’s defence. “To think a Van Helsing would be the one protecting a Faerûnian, especially one who could bring about the end times, really must make your ancestors spin in their graves” sighed Zobek in a mock disapproving tone in attempts to rile up the Professor into attacking, “What can I say; every family has their black sheep” said James with a shrug, prompting Zobek to charge forward in believe his taunt created an opening: only to be blocked once again by Helsing’s blade.

“I get the feeling this will take a while” sighed James as he once again pushed Zobek away from the three by the table and prepared for Zobek’s next assault.

**_Garfield’s Psyche…_ **

With the light from the lightning dying down, Teddy found himself no longer floating amidst the vast mountain range, but instead standing upon a wide causeway leading to a large domed entrance appearing to be carved into the mountainside held aloft by four strategically standing columns. Upon stepping through the domed entrance, Teddy found himself standing within a humongous hexagonal-shaped chamber with its sole illumination coming from the entrance as various black crystalline icicles hung from the ceiling with large webs scattering the area.

“Now this is truly unexpected” echoed a voice from the shadows of the chamber, causing Teddy to quickly spin in a circle trying to determine the voice’s location, “Considering our current locale, guests were on the bottom on my priority list; at least until I had control over the boy” continued the voice as Teddy kept his head on a swivel in a futile attempt to find the source.

Steeling himself on his goal to save Garfield, Teddy cautiously moved through the chamber till he found a long corridor strangely illuminated by the webs hanging from above. Wanting find Garfield quickly and leave as soon as possible, Teddy threw caution to the wind and ran down the corridor which lead him to a similar looking chamber to the one he entered to with one significant difference; at the heart of the chamber stood a large coalition of dark crystals being held together by layers of that strange illuminated webbing.

Towards the top of the large cocoon-like object was an unconscious Garfield, only his upper body and head exposed while the remainder of him was embedded into the cocoon, “You’re just in time to see this one off” called the same voice Teddy just ran from as a large hand with four clawed fingers emerged from the shadows above where Garfield was imprisoned before retreating into the darkness from whence it came.

****

Deciding that freeing Garfield from his prison would be his first course of action, Teddy began running towards the large construct; only to feel the sudden gust of wind usually associated with a large object passing overhead, followed by a loud booming noise from behind. Turning round to see what caused the booming, Teddy was met with the sight of a giant six-armed creature with purple skin adorned with various faces all silently screaming underneath and small seaweed-like tendrils towards the back to act as a tail of sorts. Upon the creature’s elongated head was several eyes all moving independently and glowing an eerie green with pinkish centre along with seaweed-like dreadlocks, similar to the one creating its tail, that shared the same glow as the eyes.

“I will enjoy feasting upon your psyche until you’re nothing more than a husk from another of my brothers to fill” spoke the voice that Teddy deduced was coming from the creature although its mouth appearing to be still, indicating it spoke with telepathy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *insert Mushu GIF* I LIVE!!!! 
> 
> Apologies to everyone for the length of time it took for me to churn another chapter out, been finding it hard to sit and write as of late but have managed to will myself to provide yet another chapter for you all >.<
> 
> With this new wave of inspiration, I'm hoping to have the next chapter(s) written up relatively soon. As always, please kudo and leave comments and thanks again for the support :3


	8. March of the Riders - The Final Stand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the two teams now engaging with their respective Rider target, things seem to be stacked against the Regiment as the Rider's prove to be powerful opponents. Will they be able to overcome their advisories and win the day?

**_Garfield’s Psyche…_ **

Before Teddy could so much a think of a plan, the creature raised its front left hand and attempted to slam down upon him, only for Teddy to narrowly avoid being crushed by barrelling to the side. As the creature slowly turned to face him, Teddy quickly materialised a thin disk of ice in hand that he threw towards its front legs, cleanly slicing them and forcing the creature to slump forward from the sudden lack of support.

Outreaching his hand to summon the disk back, the object was on its return trajectory when sudden the creature leapt up and bit into it, causing the ice disk to shatter albeit damaging the creature’s mouth in the process, “Oh I’m going to have so much fun breaking you” laughed the voice as the limbs the ice disk severed began pulsing with an energy similar in colour to its eyes and hair. As the pulsing intensified, the creature’s limbs quickly regrew themselves to the point where it appeared to have taken no damage at all.

With its limbs now fully regenerated, the creature stretched its right hand wide and quickly swept across the room, forcing Teddy to leap into the air; and right into the path of the creature’s left midarm which slammed him back down hard and pinned him against the wall, “This is going to be quite a feast” spoke the voice, and Teddy could practically envision the grin that accompanied the tone used.

****

**_Whitechapel, Carmilla’s Group…_ **

While the Steward’s intervention had helped tip the scales in their favour in the beginning, it wasn’t enough to really turn the tide against the Rider. The Rider was currently holding his own against Gabriel, Piper and Carmilla while Ashe tended to the Steward after his stunt with the large fire plume. While she had yet to master the destructive nature of magic, Ashe was a natural when it came to the restorative.

“He’s got to be wearing down by now” huffed Ashe out loud as she finished her treatment to the Steward’s burns. Just as she finished restoring the Steward, the trio facing off against the Rider were suddenly hurtled back from him as the Rider released an intense wave of heat, “This time I shan’t miss” said the Rider as he raised his shotgun towards the Steward with Ashe lying prone behind him.

“Hell’s Cannon, Scatter Shot” announced the Rider as he pulled the trigger, this time rather than excluding a large plume of fire; the shotgun released multiple ember projectiles that curved and swayed in the air while heading towards their mark. Upon seeing the projectiles heading his way and knowing their only healer was behind him, the Steward planted himself firmly between the attack and Ashe in attempts to protect her from the brunt of the blast.

What the Steward wasn’t expecting however, was some of the projectiles to suddenly alter their trajectory and end up hitting the others, leaving only Ashe the only one left standing. “The first rule of any war; always weaken their defences before taking out the crucial healers on the field” said the Rider as he holstered his shotgun back into place before slowly making his way over to Ashe, adding to his already intimidating persona by dragging his axe along the ground, sparks and small licks of flames dancing from its blade. As the Rider continued to slowly close the gap between him and Ashe, the rookie Faerûnian began to hear a faint yet oddly familiar voice whispering in her mind. As the whispers increased in intensity, Ashe suddenly found herself in a very familiar flaming landscape. 

****

**_Garfield’s Psyche…_ **

Teddy was never one for believing that one’s life flashed before their eyes in their final moment, however as he was currently suffocating under the large hand of this creature, his mind couldn’t help but unearth some previously buried and forgotten memories of Teddy’s life.

Flashes of a small village covered in a blanket of darkness and snow, a large wooden house filled with the laughter of children; two lads, a lass and a smiling woman holding close to her chest a bundle of multiple furs. The happy scene quickly takes a turn for the dark however, the warm lodge is replaced by a cold-looking shell imitating the same room; the windows smashed with the rugs torn and stained red with blood and not a single soul in sight. Next his mind was showing surroundings covered by an intense blizzard all around, the same bundle the woman was holding in the previous images held close to his scarred and exposed chest. Suddenly various angry voice could be heard shouting in the distance as Teddy’s view turned to show where he had just come from. Multiple lights surrounded him as an axe suddenly flew past his vision, causing Teddy to raise an arm up in defence which in turn caused the blizzard to magically focus on where his hand was facing.

****

**_Ashe’s Psyche…_ **

Finding herself once again endlessly falling, Ashe managed to get herself right side up much quicker this time around as she looked around for the same light she saw previously. However, this time there was no light, and instead she was floating in a mountain range with multiple erupting volcanos that fed rivers of lava below. The lava acting as the main source of light in absence of the sun that was unable to break through the layer of black ash clouds above.

Deciding to float down towards the ground and figure her next move out, Ashe found herself descending before a particularly large volcano with a large cave opening carved into the side which Ashe stopped in front of, “I was wondering when you would come and visit again little ember” boomed a voice from within the cave, startling Ashe as, until now, she believed to be alone in this plane. From the depths of the cave, emerged a giant fiery bird-like creature with two large sets of wings with a flaming pattern tucked into its body, a black main that connected to the underside of its long beak with the top side a bright red with tufts of yellow hair sticking out between the bird’s main and mask. A circle of six glowing red orbs appeared to be floating around the bird’s neck as it stared at the floating Ashe with its four red eyes.

“Now that you are more aware of what you are, allow me to introduce myself to you properly” spoke the bird as he fully walked out of the cave as stretched his large wings out, “For over a thousand generations now, the Sinclair clan have worshiped and been blessed by the majestic Faerûnian Deity known as the Vermilion Phoenix. The males of the Sinclair clan were the known guardians and warriors, charged with protecting the females of the clan, who in turn were blessed by the Vermilion Phoenix with incredible magical healing properties and destructive countermeasures should they face battle-”

“You called me little ember, there’s only been one person whose ever called me that and that was my father” announce Ashe as she stared at the creature before her, uncaring if she interrupted some important history lesson on her family; this needed answered now. The minute Ashe mentioned the nickname, the large creature before her gave her the warmest smile that also quietly answered her silent question, “I wish I could explain everything to you right now little ember, but I’m afraid we are almost out of time. Let me help you defeat the Rider and I will answer any questions you may have. Until then you may call me Dranzer” revealed Dranzer as he enveloped Ashe in his large wings.

****

**_Garfield’s Psyche…_ **

As the creature continued to apply pressure to Teddy, it allowed a grotesque grin to spread across its fac. However the grin was short lived, as a chilling pain quickly enveloped the hand against Teddy and would have spread across the entire creature’s body, had it not quickly broken off the limb holding Teddy in place.

“Chan fhaigh duine às an fhuachd” spoke a muffled voice similar to Teddy’s, however it appeared to be much deeper and void of most emotion. Suddenly the hand holding Teddy against the wall shattered, revealing Teddy to be relatively unharmed, albeit with some noticeable changes. His once warm blue eyes were now glazed over and now appeared cold and grey with a large strip of black running from one pointed ear to the other. His strand of silver hair had grown to cover his entire fringe while his brown hair appeared to have darkened to an almost black, as his hands and upper forearms appeared to have turned an unnatural shade of blue with small crystal-like shards slowly growing and his fingernails going black.

****

**_Whitechapel, Carmilla’s Group…_ **

Opening her eyes to find no time had passed, as she once again found herself in the misty alleyway facing off against the Rider. Hearing the faint voice of Dranzer in the back of her mind, Ashe felt a familiar notion of calm wash itself over her as she stood to attention before walked over to meet the Rider, much to the groaning protest of the others.

As Ashe strode onwards to meet the Rider, a shower of black feathers began to fall around her as Ashe began sprouting a familiar set of black feathered wings with talon tips and a set of large horns. Upon seeing Ashe take on this form again, Gabriel and Piper immediately tried to stand up from the Rider’s attack, and yet they found themselves being gently held in place by an invisible force. Turning their attention towards Ashe, the two were surprised to find Ashe had raised her right hand slightly towards them. Sparing them a side glance, Ashe gave her worried friends a quick wink to show she was in control before stopping just before the advancing Rider. Seeing Ashe stop her advancement, the Rider decided to utilise this by bursting into a sprint, his axe still sparking on the ground at an increased intensity now that he was running.

Using some nearby boxes, the Rider preformed an uppercut with the axe, causing a wave of flames to burst forth towards Ashe while he used the boxes to leap overhead to bring the axe down on her head. With a single wave of her right wing, Ashe deflected the wave of fire into a nearby wall as if it were a minor inconvenience.

“Leper” said Ashe as she held out her left hand towards the Rider, suddenly sending him crashing into the far wall much like what she did with the flame attack.

****

**_Garfield’s Psyche…_ **

Suddenly feeling unease from Teddy new appearance and the distinct drop in the room’s temperature, not to mention its limb was failing to regenerate after being broken off, the creature quickly acted on instinct and turned to make a hasty retreat from Teddy, only for a Kama blade entirely made of ice to narrowly miss its head and embed itself in the ground before the cocoon Garfield was imprisoned in.

“Chan fhaigh duine às an fhuachd” repeated Teddy as the creature fearfully turned back to face Teddy who now was brandishing a second ice Kama while another slowly forming in his free hand. Seeing no other option and apparently no longer wishing to toy with him, the creature’s mouth began glowing intensely before it exhaled a large plume of purple flame in attempt to scorch Teddy to a crisp.

When the creature believed Teddy to be cinders, it stopping producing the purple flame, only to find a wall of black ice had been erected before Teddy, who stepped around it to reveal he was unharmed. Giving the creature no room to even think of another attack, Teddy burst into a sprint before leaping into the air and jamming one of his Kamas into one of the creature’s many eyes, causing it to yell out in pain as an eerie frost began spreading forth from the wound.

****

**_Whitechapel, Carmilla’s Group…_ **

Having recovered from Ashe suddenly blasting him with an invisible force into the wall, the Rider leapt down from the crater he made on impact and drew his shotgun, “Let’s see you handle this! Hell’s Cannon, Scatter Shot!” bellowed the Rider as he released the same projectile attack that downed everyone else, this time all heading for Ashe who still remained calm as ever.

This time, rather than extended her hand outwards, Ashe simply swung her right arm to the side while saying, “Nruter.” Suddenly, all the projectiles curved around and before the Rider could do anything to stop them or get out of the way, he found himself taking the brunt of his own attack. As the Rider lay there unmoving, the surrounding area was once again engulfed in mists as the group’s surroundings returned to normal. Not wishing to let the Rider escape, a now hornless and wingless Ashe walked up to his unconscious body and said with a snap of her fingers, “Dnib mih.” Summoning ropes out of thin air to tie him up and prevent him from going anywhere. 

****

**_Garfield’s Psyche…_ **

After landing that initial strike with the Kama to the creature’s eye, Teddy began a ferocious barrage of slashes and swings against the creature, slowly cutting it down piece by piece while making any attempt at retaliation futile as he reacted with almost demonic-like scene to any of the creature’s attempts of swatting him away. As Teddy slashed away at the creature’s body, something small from its back leapt off towards Garfield, however this didn’t go unnoticed by Teddy who charged with Kama in hand. As he got closer to the object, said thing came into view and Teddy found himself quickly halting his advance.

Lying there before Teddy, curled up and crying, was nothing more than a small boy appearing no older than Garfield was when Teddy found him. The boy appeared to have the same glowing hair as the creature and the same amount of eyes, although his face did appear more humanoid, “Please, I don’t want to do this anymore, I just wanted to please him” sobbed the child as an image of a bundle of furs flashed in Teddy’s mind, causing him to drop his Kamas to the side before falling to his knees before the child, his chilling appearance already fading back to his normal form.

As Teddy reached out for him, the boy squeezed his eyes shut in fear; however, when he felt something warm enveloping him, he quickly opened his eyes to find Teddy was actually embracing him. “I don’t understand, you know what I was doing to your friend. Why are you acting like this?” questioned the boy, all the while making no attempt to push Teddy away from him.

“Because I know what it’s like, to desperately need the affection of others that you do unimaginable things and no matter how much you spill, they still won’t love you” revealed Teddy as he stared at the boy with a loving yet slightly haunted expression that showed the boy Teddy was telling this from experience, unleashing a fresh load of tears from the boy as he buried himself in Teddy’s embrace.

****

After what felt like hours, the boy calmed long enough for him and Teddy to head over to the imprisoned Garfield as the boy began undoing the cocoon, “I suppose you already know this however, as this is my true form, if you destroy me then Garfield will be rid of any presence I ever had on his mind£ explained the boy, revealing himself to be the Rider of Conquest.

“I have a better idea in mind” said Teddy as Garfield was released from his cocoon, “Stay with Garfield as his partner and make amends through him” announced Teddy, confusing Conquest as a hand was placed upon his head. “You’ve been with me for the better part of over a century, losing you would mean losing a piece of myself at this point. I know my brother here, and if he is saying you deserve another chance, then who am I to argue with someone who done the same for me” smiled Garfield

****

**_Tomb of the Sacred Hunters_ **

Slowly opening his eyes, Teddy immediately shut them again from the sudden light before attempting to open them once again. Slowly taking in his surrounding as his vision return, Teddy was surprised to find the main hall to be a complete mess. Many books lay haphazardly across the floor with most of the pillars adorning deep cuts within them as Franklin appeared to be attempting to clean the mess while grumbling something about unruly guests. As his mind became clearer, Teddy quickly shot up in search for Garfield only to find himself on the table, with no sign of Garfield and a group of identically dressed individuals adorning various swords and other armaments standing guard of the Professor’s office. They were wearing light grey tailcoats with various brown straps around the waist with black trousers that were tucked into brown knee-high boots with grey shin guards. 

Before Teddy could question any of the individuals on who they were and what they were doing here, the tomb’s main doors swung open as the Detective and her group entered with an unconscious man in a black mask suspended mid-air while being wrapped in multiple chains. With the other group’s sudden arrival, one of the individuals guarding the Professor’s door; a tall male with brown skin and snow white hair, pointed ears and strange glowing markings all over his arms and face, rasped the door in a quick pattern before returning to where he was standing.

****

When the doors to the Professor’s office swung open, Van Helsing, Zobek and an awake Garfield exited the room while also being accompanied by a brown skinned male dressed in the same uniform as those standing guard, albeit with the addition of a red scarf loosely wrapped around his shoulders, with long black hair and a scruffy beard.

“I believe congratulations are in order Detective for managing to handle such a dangerous target” said the man as the Detective saluted him, “I thank you for the compliment sir, however this victory goes to our newest recruit” replied Carmilla as she motioned her hand towards Ashe, who shyly waved towards the man due to being suddenly thrust into the spotlight. “Is that so? I guess we’ll be watching your growth with great interest” remarked the man as he stroked his beard in thought before turning to his guards, “See to this one’s immediate delivery to face trial before the Quiet Council, I will join you momentarily after speaking with this cell in private” ordered the man as the group nodded in unison before they went over and relieved Carmilla’s group of the Rider.

“Now comes the matter with this one” said the man turned his attention towards the Professor and Garfield, only to find Teddy standing between the two, “Stand aside Theodore, you have my word that young Garfield will not be harmed” said the Professor, startling Teddy as he turned to face him for an explanation. “It’s alright Ted, I explained the situation to the Grand Inquisitor and he’s offered to help me learn to harness Conquest’s power. I’ll be safe with them” reasoned Garfield as he placed a hand on Teddy’s shoulder, causing him to turn and face is brother/roommate as he moved in for a hug before moving away towards the Grand Inquisitor’s side.

****

With Garfield and the Grand Inquisitor now gone from the Tomb, everyone’s attention now turned towards Zobek, who had remained silent throughout the time the Inquisitors were here, and his Steward. “Time for us to also take our leave my Steward” said Zobek as he moved to leave the tomb, only to find that he was the only one heading for the door.

“I’ve decided that our contract is no longer beneficial, and since it no longer benefits both parties, consider it null and void” replied the Steward, earing a surprised look from Zobek and the others in the room except for Ashe’s confused one, “I thought Arverni deals were binding and that they could never be broken” questioned Gabriel as the Steward let out a small chuckle.

“While that may be the case for those in contract with us, we Arverni can in fact end a contract on the whim that it conditions no longer suit us. The only problem being, we require contracts to anchor ourselves to this side of the rift and will slowly disappear into the either and await reconstruction on the other side which can take a few millennia” explained the Steward before turning his attention towards the Professor, “Which is why I wish to make a contract with you Lord Van Helsing” stated the Steward as he bowed before the Professor.

“Now hold on just a moment! I summoned you front the rift, you belong to me!” spluttered Zobek as he began marching towards the Steward, only for Piper and Gabriel to position themselves between him and the Steward. “I have seen what the Regiment stands for, and I wish to learn more of what it means to have friends” said the Steward as he spared a glance at Ashe before turning back to the Professor, “which is why I will share with you all my name as a sign of friendship and to seal this new contract”

When the Professor nodded in agreement to the contract and have the Steward join the Regiment, a dim light began to shine on the Steward and Zobek. Suddenly, the light shining on Zobek began to fade as a new light began to shine brightly over the Professor, “With the light of the nine as witness, I reveal to you and those of the Regiment my name; Kuro”

****

As the Detective took her leave for the night and the others took their newest member Kuro out to the Lucky Gryphon, only Van Helsing remained in the Tomb with Zobek as the two remained in silence over recent events. After a couple of minutes in silence, Zobek turned and began making his way towards the exit himself, “You know they’ll be ready for what’s to come right” said the Professor quietly, prompting Zobek to stop just before the door and turn back to the Professor.

“It’s as I said during our little spar, something big is working in the shadows; I know you’ve seen it. All these cults becoming more active and even the Riders making a return after so many centuries. My only worry is if your last line is enough to keep him at bay” replied Zobek before exiting the Tomb and leaving James in total silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, another arc comes to a close. 
> 
> How is everyone finding this story so far? Leave your comment down below along with anything you'd like to see in the future :3
> 
> As always, thanks to my beta; you guys are the best and please kudo and comment


	9. Reunion at Brunswick Centre

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After defeating the Ripper and saving the day from the Rider's return, Ashe and the others decided to take a day off and chill. While relaxing, they meet some old faces from their past . Could their return mean anything for the gang?

**_The Lucky Gryphon, Ravnica Campus…_ **

Having just sent the rest of the staff home, Doug began placing the chair upon the tables to begin cleaning his establishment down for the night, when he was interrupted by a knock on the door. Sighing heavily through his nose, Doug was expecting to find a bunch of students or locals wanting a quick pint or two and was about to tell them as politely as he could to piss off, when the words died in his mouth upon seeing who was at the door.

****

“So the lad’s gone to join the Inquisitors” sighed Doug as he handed Teddy his second pint of ale while the rest of the group continue to nurse their first drinks provided by Kuro, “Aye he has Doug, sorry to be the one to tell you” replied Teddy as he took another big swig of his ale, his cheeks already turning a rosy red from the alcohol. While the group continued to drink in silence, Doug noticed a few new faces amongst the lot in the form of Ashe and Kuro, “I don’t believe we’ve actually been introduced, the name’s Doug Tumnus and I’m the faunest owner of this establishment known as The Lucky Gryphon” announced Doug as he moved round the bar table. As Doug came into full view of everyone, his legs began to shimmer before quickly changing into that of a goat.

“A pleasure Sir Tumnus, I am Kuro of the Averna and the newest recruit into the Regiment” revealed Kuro as he stood from his place and bowed before Doug, “Hi I’m Ashe. Pretty sure you’ve seen me around every now and again, but it’s nice to meet you in person” smiled Ashe as she waved at the newly revealed faun. After introducing themselves to the newly revealed Doug, the group went onto broader subjects, such as what Ashe and Kuro were studying and the like, “So you’re telling me that you’ve yet to sort out your cover for the university?” asked Doug to Kuro after the Averna revealed to not have a subject lined out as of yet.

“I believe in order to understand more about the concepts of friends and emotions, I will be partaking in the studies of you call psychology” revealed Kuro as he finished the last of his drink, “We can get you registered in the morning and then take you shopping for some clothes. In the meantime, I believe we better let Mr. Tumnus close up for the night and head home” reasoned Ashe with the others nodding in agreement as they all downed the last of their beverages.

“Seeing how you made those drinks Kuro, I’d be more than ‘appy to provide you a job here” offered Doug as Kuro happily nodded in agreement to the position before he and the other bid the faun a good night and left him to properly close up the Gryphon.

****

**_Tomb of the Sacred Hunters…_ **

Having bid Franklin a goodnight as the large construct took up sentry in an archway outside his office, Van Helsing decided to read over Carmilla’s report on the fight between her group and the Rider. Upon reaching the part of the report where Ashe turned the tide of the conflict, James took a particular interest in the way she managed to deal with the Rider.

Now armed with this knowledge, Van Helsing stood from his desk and made his way over to the crystal ball Azazel had used to contact him earlier in the day, “Hope you are doing well, but I’m sure you know this isn’t a courtesy call. I’m in need of a favour from you”

****

**_The Following Morning…_ **

Sundays were an overrated day in Ashe’s eyes; it was the final day of the weekend before having to go back to the dredge of university stress and teen angst-filled air. However, there was another reason she detested this particular Sunday; she had awoken from a relatively delightful dream to find Kuro intently staring at her face mere inches apart.

Needless to say the Averna got a solid slap from Ashe, followed up with a thorough beating from Piper due to intruding in the Girl’s dormitory. Of course when Gabe and Teddy found out when the group met at the Lucky Gryphon for breakfast and Kuro had a glowing red handprint on his face, they pull him aside for a scolding but the girls knew better and knew they were reprimanding him for getting caught.

As the group settled down, Ashe noticed that Teddy seemed a bit down in the dumps while staring intently out the window while Gabriel continued to avidly talk with Kuro about life on campus when the food arrived. While Teddy always cheered up at the pleasant smell of pancakes and sausages, there was something oddly familiar lingering amidst the usual aroma. Coupled with the unique layout he hadn’t seen for a while, Teddy turned to the waiter to be pleasantly surprised.

****

Standing before the group’s table adorning a dark blue apron was a male of average height and build with dirty blonde hair tucked into an emerald beanie with tufts of his fringe sticking out and a set of bangs on either side of his face. Along with the apron, he was also wearing a turquoise coloured top with beige undershirt and black cropped trousers and white slip on trainers.

“Harley you damn fool, you were supposed to warn us when next you’d be back” proclaimed Gabriel as he reached out and pulled the now named Harley into a tight headlock. After wrestling himself from Gabriel’s grasp and as Harley went on to fix his beanie, Ashe noticed the lad had pointy ears, each pierced by blue rings.

“Sorry to assume, but you're Faerûnian right? Don’t people query about your ears?” Ashe asked the obvious questions as Harley finished sorting his beanie with his ears still sticking out. He then began to make movements with his hands, further confusing Ashe.

“He’s saying the piercings he wears have special runes that alter his appearance in human eyes. Only those of Faerûnian blood can see them” revealed Teddy to Ashe as Harley smiled and nodded at the explanation, “That’s so cool. Hey, I’ve just had an idea; if it’s alright with Doug, why don’t you come spend the day with us.

“We’re planning on taking this one shopping for some more appropriate clothes” suggested Ashe as she pointed to Kuro who was quietly sipping his tea. Upon hearing the suggestion, Harley’s smile widened as he nodded in agreement while signing some more, “He says he’d love that” translated Teddy before digging into his pancakes.

****

**_The Brunswick Centre, London…_ **

With breakfast out of the way, and a couple of passer-by’s staring at what Kuro was wearing, the group along with the addition of Harley ventured forth by bus to the nearby shopping outlet to get Kuro some more modern clothing. While on the bus heading for the outlet, Ashe decided to sit next to Harley in order to get better acquainted, “I take it from their reaction, Teddy and Gabriel know you quite well. Got any embarrassing stories to share about them?” asked Ashe to Harley as the silent lad turned to face Ashe with a friendly smile.

Before Harley could spill the beans so to speak, Teddy made his presence known by placing himself between the two, “Probably should have mentioned earlier, but Harley here cannot speak a word, so we use sign language instead” revealed Teddy, putting a pin in any of Ashe’s mischievous thoughts. Sighing in defeat while Teddy sat back in his seat, Ashe’s attention was caught by Harley as he took her hands and began signing the word _friend_.

****

After a couple of minutes on the bus, the group eventually arrived at their destination with Harley showing Ashe some of the basics of sign language with sings for _hello_ , _thank you_ and _goodbye_. The Brunswick Centre was full of various groups of people all looking into the various stores that made up the centre, from families spending their Sunday at the cinema and eating at one of the many dining area to the cliché groups of teenagers window shopping for the latest look.

Finding their first stop of the day in New Look, the group quickly got to work finding clothes for Kuro to try on. After a couple of minutes getting Kuro’s measurements and finding a changing room to deposit the poor Arverni while they brought him clothes to try on. There was a great variety in terms of choice; from smart shirts and jeans to more questionable sorts like socks and sandals, Ashe had Gabriel’s ear stretched to the point it was a close resembles to Harley’s after that choice, but eventually they all settle on a set of black dungarees that Kuro wore with only clip fastened and a red hoodie underneath with black high top canvas shoes. After paying for Kuro’s current clothes as well as some others for the sake of variety, the group continued to explore the remaining shops until the rumbling of Teddy’s stomach announced to everyone that it was time for some lunch.

As they were sitting down after ordering some burgers at Gourmet Burger Kitchen, a sudden gasp in their direction caught everyone’s attention. 

****

Standing there at the entrance of the restaurant was a young woman around Ashe’s age with fiery red hair tied into a high ponytail that fell to the middle of her back with her fringe sorted into two bangs, the left bang longer than the right. She was currently wearing a teal blouse with a leather wrist strap and light blue skinny jeans tucked into black and turquoise high-heeled boots with white hearts and a black purse with a white heart draped over her shoulder and resting on her right hip.

Upon seeing the redhead, Ashe broke into a massive grin as she ran over to hug the squealing lass before joining in to make it an awkward squeal fest. After finally calming themselves down, Ashe returned to the table with the redheaded lass in tow, “Guys, I’d like you to meet a very old friend of mine. This is Jenny, we use to be neighbours till she moved to be with her dad” explained Ashe as Jenny sat next to her still with the massive grin on her face.

****

When the waiter returned with their drinks and got Becki’s order added to the bill, Ashe noticed that Teddy still seemed rather distant from the rest of the group and decided that fixing that needed top priority, “Hey Jen, you still listen to that song by Paris Hilton? What was that name of it again?” pondered Ashe very loudly and gaining the attention of the entire table as Jenny’s cheeks slowly dusted themselves in a pinkish hue.

“I’ve absolutely no idea what song you are referring to” claimed Jenny as she quickly avoided glancing in Ashe’s mischievous direction, “So you’re telling me that we didn’t use to dance around your living room to Paris For President like absolute twats” replied Ashe slyly, causing Piper to spit her drink across the table in surprise and force Gabriel to lurch back in response to the spray of liquid now dripping from his face. Quickly drying his face of any residue, Gabriel was about to attempt to reveal Ashe’s strange motives when Teddy suddenly let loose a small chuckle at the sight of the group, causing Gabriel to smile a little before returning to his former position, “ _I believe she was attempting to cheer Teddy up_ ” signed Harley to Gabriel as the latter began signing his reply, “I guess somethings never change, Ashe has always had everyone’s best interest at heart” said Jenny suddenly, prompting Gabriel to stop mid sign and everyone to stare at the table’s newest addition.

Seeing the entire table’s attention now on her, the pinkish hue from earlier returned in force on Jenny’s cheeks as the lass became flustered under the attention, “Sorry, didn’t mean to intrude on your conversation” she replied meekly as she bowed her head in attempt to hide herself, “I wouldn’t worry about it Jenny, we’re just surprised to meet someone who can understand BSL is all” replied Teddy in attempt to save the lass from further embarrassment.

Thankfully, it was at this moment that the food everyone ordered chose to arrive, quickly pushing any awkwardness to the side at least for the time being while the group all dug into their lunch.

****

**_Ravnica University, Later That Evening…_ **

After the ordeal at the restaurant, Jenny joined the others in a relaxing time exploring the London sights and catching up with Ashe and vice versa. It was during this time that Ashe had learned that Jenny’s father, whom she had moved away with all those years ago, had recently died from cancer and she was in the process of moving back in with her mother.

As the day inevitably moved onto the evening and clouds threatening rain rolled in, Ashe found herself bidding her old friend farewell, albeit with the promise of a lunch date with their parents during the week. Now back on campus, the group felt it best to check in with the Professor to ensure Kuro’s enrolment was complete as the rain slowly began to fall.

****

**_Tomb of the Sacred Hunters…_ **

The Professor was just exiting his study when the group walked through the door, “Ah I was just about to summon you all. Kuro, you’ll be pleased to know the enrolment is now complete and you shall being your life here in the morning with Gabriel here being you dormmate as well as your go to for any questions you may have” revealed Van Helsing before turning to Harley with open arms, “And I hope your travels were safe son” said Van Helsing as Harley walked forward and embraced his father in a firm hug.

After the two separated from their warming reunion, only to come into contact with Ashe’s jaw dropped expression, the Professor felt that an explanation was in order, “I suppose proper introductions are in order. Ashe Sinclair, I’d like you to meet my adopted son Harley Van Helsing.

“The reason I called him here was actually in regard to Detective Em’s report on your battle with the Rider the other day. You see, Harley here is an Álfar whose native tongue, seidr, is known to the Faerûnians as X'zelzi'ohr; the Tongue of Reality. The words you spoke in reverse when facing the Rider were in seidr, meaning you also have the gift of using this language, albeit without the handicap Harley has” explained the Professor as he placed his hand on Harley’s shoulder, “As it’s his native togue, if Harley were to utter a single word or phrase, then the same results of you conflict with the Rider would happen and reality would shift to match what he said. So Harley resorts to sign language or telepathy to communicate”

As if on cue, a whispering voice could be heard inside Ashe’s voice. One that felt oddly familiar, “ _I hope that you and I will be great friends. But first, can you explain to me who this Paris Hilton person is?_ ” spoke the voice as Ashe couldn’t help but giggle at the question.

****

**_Elsewhere in London…_ **

The rain was really coming down as a woman quickly rushed down the deserted streets, umbrella in hand towards her bus stop. Unfortunately due to the umbrella’s limiting vision, the woman was unable to see the hooded man stalking her from the shadows until she suddenly had a firm hand round her neck dragging her into a nearby alleyway.

Staring down at the man in fear as he held her single-handed against the brick wall, the woman noted how pale he was and that his mouth was filled with unnaturally sharp teeth. Lowering the woman so her neck was in optimal biting range, the Fiend was about to lunge forward and sink its teeth into her neck, when something suddenly whizzed past and tore through the arm holding the woman up like it was made of tissue paper. Gasping and coughing for air while the creature reeled from having its arm suddenly shredded to pieces, the woman heard the clacking of footsteps as a figure slowly appeared in the alleyway with a smoking pistol in hand. Still fearing for her life, the woman was relieved slightly when the figure tilted their head to the side as a sign for the woman to go, leaving only the figure and the one handed Fiend.

Only now sensing the others arrival, the Fiend quickly turned to face the figure, only have a pistol planted point blank upon their head as the figure pulled the trigger without uttering a single word. As the Fiend was shot by the pistol, the light from the flash revealed more of the figure; namely their leather bracelet with a gem as red as blood embedded in the centre.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so here we are heading into the next arc with some chill shopping and socialising with a twist.
> 
> What do you guys think of the newest additions to the story, tell me what you think down below and and theories on the mystery shooter
> 
> As always, thanks to my betas!! Please kudo and look forward to you comments :3


	10. Date With Normalcy, The Faerûnian Case Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an interesting weekend of reunions and conflict, there was still one challenge awaiting the group; student life. While everyone enjoyed their somewhat return to normalcy, Detective Em found herself dealing with a case that held more than meets the eye.

**_Dorm #247, Ravnica Campus…_ **

For a Wednesday morn, Ashe was actually well rested and ready to tackle whatever the day threw at her. Quickly putting her hair into a tight knot at the back while letting her right fringe drape over her face and slipping into her canvas shoes, a pair of black jeans with a white hooded sweatshirt before donning a short, light-brown and worn out jacket to combat the autumn chill.

Quickly poking at Piper to ensure she was at least conscious so she didn’t miss her journalism class, Ashe sighed before retrieving her message bag, placed it round her shoulder and departing the dorm to quickly swing by The Lucky Gryphon for some breakfast.

****

**_The Lucky Gryphon, Ravnica Campus…_ **

Due to being quite early in the morning, the Gryphon was rather deserted save for the few regular students who had time before their morning classes attempting to wake up with mugs of coffee and plates of warm food. Ashe found herself fondly smiling at the sight of Kuro hard at work taking student’s orders and stocking up the buffet stand with breakfast items while Harley was busy taking orders for coffees.

“Mornin’ Ashe, take it you’ll be having yer usual?” called Doug from a table he had just finished placing food at, prompting a nod of confirmation from Ashe as she fished her purse from her backpack and joining the queue of students placing their orders at the buffet stand as Doug returned to stand beside Kuro with pen and paper in hand.

“Let me guess; two pieces of tattie scone with ketchup in a morning roll” said Doug as he jokingly tapped his index and middle fingers against his temple as if to say he was trying to read Ashe’s mind, prompting the young student to laugh at the owner’s antics before again nodding in agreement, “You know me so well” she laughed while as the took the morning roll from him while Kuro appeared confused at the whole situation.

“I believe what Lady Ashe was actually thinking about her chemistry test, and not about what to have for breakfast” stated Kuro with a factual tone, causing Doug and Ashe to sigh heavily at Kuro’s lack of understanding banter. Deciding it was too early to deal with Kuro and his misplaced innocence on matters, Ashe quickly took her roll and moved onto her next stop with Harley.

Greeting her new Álfar friend with her signature friendly smile, Ashe received one in return as Harley began signing with his hands while a familiar voice whispered in Ashe’s mind, “ _Morning Ashe, will you be having any hot drinks this morning?_ ” asked the voice as Ashe scratched her chin for a moment before nodding in agreement, “I’ll have a mocha with cream please, and I’ll also be having a cold drink from the fridge” replied Ashe slowly so Harley could read her lips before turning round to make her brew as she picked out a drink from the nearby fridge.

With roll and morning brew in hand, Ashe smiled and thanked Harley before pocketing the bottle of juice and retreating to the same table she and the other sat at yesterday morn.

****

With her roll devoured and her warm drink held firmly between her hand, Ashe was so busy overlooking her chemistry notes and nursing her morning brew that she failed to realise she wasn’t alone at the table anymore, “You’ve honestly got to tell me how you can stomach reading that this early in the morning” grumbled Teddy as Ashe quickly turned her attention from her notes to her friend standing before their table.

Taking in Teddy’s appearance, he wore a red beanie that sat loosely on his head with tufts of brown hair towards the back and his signature silver fringe covering his forehead and glasses firmly placed over his tired and heavy-looking blue eyes. Like Ashe, Teddy was wearing a woollen navy hooded sweatshirt, that Ashe had to admit looked super comfy given their current season, with the hemming of a red and black plaid shirt sticking out at the bottom and the same sleeveless denim vest with darker shoulders he wore during their tour of the campus and a pair of black Craghopper trousers.

To complete the tired student look, Teddy firmly held a brown paper bag in his left hand, no doubt his breakfast roll, and in his right was a Hufflepuff travel mug that he placed on the table along with the bag before removing his sling shoulder backpack and slumping in the seat opposite with head placed upon the table, “Always knew you were a Hufflepuff” remarked Ashe was a smirk as Teddy lazily waved his right hand as a means to shoo away her comments.

“You ready for this morning’s test on reactions?” asked Teddy without moving his head from the table as Ashe returned to looking over her notes while nursing the remains of her coffee, “I’m sure it’ll be a sinch, yourself?” replied Ashe as Teddy finally sat himself up and nodded silently an affirmative while he reached into his paper bag, revealing his morning roll of two squared sausages and a tattie scone with tomato sauce glistening at the edges.

With their breakfast rolls happily devoured and their systems fuelled with morning caffeine, Ashe and Teddy left the warmth of The Lucky Gryphon and ventured into the cold autumn morn with the surrounding trees giving of a fiery appeal with their red and orange leaves. Tucking the bottom of his face into his hoodie to stave off the cold, Teddy followed Ashe as the two made their way towards the Science District of the University.

****

**_The Science District, Ravnica Campus…_ **

Due to being one of the oldest and more prestigious universities on the British Isles, Ravnica University offer students a broad selection of courses to study. From business studies to astronomy and everything in-between, each subject was compartmentalised into the various “Districts” dotted around campus, each overseen by their respective Deputy how reported directly to Professor Van Helsing.

The Science District was housed with various laboratories joined together by medium sized room filled with various chemicals used by the classes for their experiments. As Teddy and Ashe entered their classroom, they placed their bags under their benches before making their way over to a closed door with a rack of lab coats lined upon it. Removing their outer jackets so they were in hoodies, the duo replaced two lab coats with their jackets before putting them on and taking their places at their tables. Just as Ashe sat down and pulled her notes from her bag, the sound of someone entering the room caught both hers and Teddy’s attention as Gabriel walked into the class, wearing a pair of washed black jeans with a green hooded top with brown shoulders and elbow pads with the sleeves rolled halfway up his forearm, revealing his leather wrists cuffs.

“I am completely unsurprised to find you here this early” sighed Gabriel as he placed a travel mug upon a desk and grabbed a lab coat from the rack before retrieving his mug and setting himself down on a stool in front of Teddy and Ashe, “So, how was it sharing a dorm with our newest member?” asked Teddy as he leaned forward intent on hearing what Gabriel had to say about Kuro.

“If you’re expecting me to say that he kept me up through most of the night with his endless questions about myself and the history of the Sacred Hunters, then you have another thing coming” said Gabriel sternly without turning to face the two, causing Ashe to audibly gulp at the intense tone he was using, “That’s exactly what he done wasn’t it?” asked Teddy in a deadpan tone. Suddenly, Gabriel slumped forward as his head connected with the table before him hard. Concerned for her friend’s wellbeing, Ashe stood to check on Gabriel, only for the one in question to suddenly turn round to reveal the dark bags under his eyes and his exhausted expression, “He would not stop with the questions” sighed Gabriel dramatically before turning back to face the front of the classroom and taking a swig from his travel mug, to which Ashe assumed is coffee.

It was at this time that other students began entering the class and donning lab coats before taking their places at the benches around the lab when, from the black door next to the lab coat, entered a middle aged male smartly dressed while wearing a more aged lab coat that the ones the classmates had taken from the rack, “Good morning class, I hope you all managed to get some studying done as we will begin the test in a couple of minutes” called the man as placed a bag down on the table at the front and began pulling out a large amount of paper.

****

**_New Scotland Yard, London…_ **

When Carmilla came into the office this morning, she was expecting a nice quiet day in the office after the Whitechapel case. Instead she was currently being briefed on yet another case; no rest for the wicked. While this appeared to be yet another run of the mill alleyway mugging gone wrong, there was a nagging feeling at the back of Carmilla’s mind that suggested his was anything but as the Captain continued to give them their morning brief on the matter.

“Around 23:00 last night, a woman was heading home from work when she was ambushed and would have been assaulted by a mugger had an armed individual not intervened. While the woman’s description of this armed individual remains sketchy at best, we have been able to get the mugger’s body down to the morgue and the autopsy report should be with us within the hour” explained the Captain to the rest of the room. The man known as the Captain was a well-built man for someone who appeared in his late 40s with his black hair slicked back and his sides showing his age with streaks of dulling grey with a finely trimmed goatee completely his distinguished look. His attire also screamed professionalism with his pressed white shirt underneath a black waistcoat and black dress trousers.

“Em, with your handling on the Whitechapel case I’m putting this one in your court, so you’ll remain behind to receive the files on this case. The rest of you are dismissed” called the Captain as everyone saluted the Captain before they filed out of the briefing room to return to their desks, leaving only Carmilla and the Captain.

****

With everyone out of the briefing room save for Detective Em and the Captain, Carmilla rose from her spot towards the back of the room to join the Captain at the front, “You wished for me to stay behind sir?” asked Carmilla as the Captain continued to stare at the board at the front of the room with the taken images of the scene.

“What can you determine from these images here Carmilla” said the Captain while pointing at the images of the body at the scene of the crime; specifically the closeup shots of their wounds, “They must’ve been shot within close proximity due to the intensity of the scorch marks Captain Minos” replied Carmilla as she squinted her eyes to try to get a better look.

Suddenly Carmilla’s eyes widen in surprise after squinting at the images for a moment before quickly turning on the spot and was out the door before the Captain could even utter a word. Sighing at the Detective’s sudden exit from the briefing room, Captain Minos began taking down the images from the board before shuffling them into a brown binder to later deposit on Carmilla’s desk, pausing slightly to glance at the same images that caused Carmilla to hastily leave the briefing room.

****

**_Ravnica Hall, Ravnica Campus…_ **

After several painstaking minutes droning over their chemistry test, Ashe, Gabriel and Teddy were finally released from the Science District and made their way to Ravnica Hall to meet with Jenny before she and Ashe went into the city to have their lunch date with their mothers. As the trio arrived at the Hall, they were met outside by Jenny dressed in a white long-sleeved shirt with a black sleeveless vest and a long skirt that came to her ankles, showing off her brown boots.

“Is this a bad time? You all seem to have been put through the ringer” commented Jenny as she stood to meet the trio with a concerned look at the exhausted lot staggering up to meet her, “I wouldn’t worry about us Jen, we just had to deal with a gruelling test is all” sighed Ashe as she and the others slumped into the bench Jenny was sitting on moments before.

“Well we’ve got some time before heading out if you guys wanna talk about it” suggested Jenny as Ashe and the others remained slumped in the bench for a few moments of blissful silence before Ashe audibly sighed before jumping up from her position on the bench as if fully rested, “Well we’d better get going, else these two will nag your ear off and we’ll be late” said Ashe as she quickly grabbed Jenny’s arm and began running away from Ravnica Hall, all the while sticking her tongue out at Gabe and Teddy.

Just as Ashe and Jenny left for their meeting with their mothers, Teddy and Gabe were joined by Kuro and Harley still dressed in their uniform also looking towards the retreating girls, “Is it truly wise to let Lady Ashe leave with her friend alone? We don’t know much about her” asked Kuro as Teddy sighed before patting their Arverni comrade on the shoulder, “Better to just let her have this time with her friend, we know better than to stop her. And for the last time, she told you to drop the Lady part” sighed Teddy as he pushed Kuro towards The Lucky Gryphon with Harley and Gabe in tow.

****

**_The Morgue, New Scotland Yard…_ **

Ever since Carmilla saw the images of the wounds on the body, her Faerûnian instincts had been nagging at the back of her head to avoid any and all interactions with whatever had caused those grievous wounds, however in the meantime kept her focus on making it down to the morgue to see it for herself.

Standing in the archway entrance of the morgue, Carmilla walked her way down the small set of steps and stood at the end of the nearest of the six metal dissecting tables as she waited for a medical examiner to give her the debrief on the mugger’s body. Upon hearing a slight squelching sound coming from behind one of the nearby door set ajar, Carmilla cautiously moved towards the slightly open door before pushing it open and stepping into the room with one fell swoop.

Before Carmilla, hunched over on a metal stool, was a young woman in her late 20s with snowy white hair and rosy-cheeked, dressed in a lab coat with a block hood sticking out at the collar and faded blue jeans tucked into brown leather knee boots. Quickly scanning the woman before her, Carmilla found the source of the squelching noise in the form of the chunk of raw meat the woman was holding with gloved hand and was in the process of tearing a piece off with her teeth.

****

“Seriously Mariah? What if I was one of the humans and saw you munching into… What is that?” asked Carmilla with a sigh as she gestured to the raw meat in Mariah’s mouth that was currently dripping with blood onto the floor, “From the taste, believe it’s a liver” said Mariah with a slight Canadian accent as she swallowed the piece she was chewing before placing it to one side in a metal bowl Carmilla failed to notice until now.

“You know, for a borderline Feral Thrall, the guy really knew his vintage alcohols” commented Mariah as she walked Carmilla over towards the metal slab that had the body of the mugger, covered only by the thin sheet that was placed over the majority of his body, “You and your wendigo habits never cease to amaze Mariah, can’t believe you got all that from eating his liver” sighed Carmilla as she shook her head, “So what else can you tell me about our deceased Faerûnian?”

It was at this point that Mariah’s expression turned solemn before turning away from Carmilla, “I take it the Captain showed you the images, you just want to see them for yourself so you know you aren’t dreaming” said Mariah as she leaned against the slab before sparing a glance at the Detective to test her resolve. When she saw Carmilla’s stern demeanour, Mariah gave one final sigh before pulling back the sheet to reveal what lay underneath.

****

As Mariah pulled back the sheet, Carmilla was met with the usual gruesome sight of dissection but that wasn’t what was causing the look of fear on Carmilla’s face. Right on the centre of the body’s chest, roughly where the heart is, there was a circular area of what Carmilla assumed was scorched flesh with a faint glow of orange runes around the edges.

“There’s no questioning it now Carmilla” said Mariah as she also stared at the ‘wound’, “This is the work of Seidr Tek”


	11. The Mother's Lunch, Strangeness Abounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashe and Jenny enjoy their planned lunch with their mothers, Teddy and Gabe enjoy some quiet time at the Lucky Gryphon. However, strange occurrences seem to follow them; just what could they mean for the gang?

**_Café Deco, London…_ **

Upon making it to their destination, Café Deco, Ashe and Jenny quickly spotted their mothers waiting outside happily chatting with one another as if they had never been apart. As they got closer to their parents, it was Mrs. Sinclair who spotted them and waved them over with a warm smile that Ashe sorely missed.

“You’re just in time, Trisha and I were just about to go in and get us a table” said Jenny’s mother with a warm smile that matched Mrs. Sinclair’s as the girls and their mothers entered the establishment and began the hunt for a large enough table for their group. Once they managed to find a table large enough for their party, despite their mother’s protests, Ashe and Jenny decided to take their mother’s orders for food and drinks and then proceeded to stand in the queue for the till.

“So what would you like to order today then?” asked the cashier when Ashe and Jenny made it to the till, “Yes, can we please have two lasagnes, a tuna & sweetcorn baked potato and spaghetti meatballs with two cans of cola, bottle of water and herbal tea please” said Ashe as she listed off the items everyone was after.

The cashier nodded after taking the order and ran the total amount through the till before accepting the money from Ashe before making the tea and then heading off to plate up their order, “For the cans and bottle of water, you’ll find them in the fridges behind you. Why don’t you go grab a seat and we’ll bring your food over when they’re ready” called the cashier as Ashe and Jenny made their way over to the fridges to grab their drinks and re-join their mothers at the table.

As Ashe reached into the fridge to grab the cans of coke, another hand suddenly shot forth and swiped one of them before she could pick it up. Turning to face the culprit, who was a young boy and heading back to his mother in the queue, Ashe was just about to tell them off when the can the boy had taken suddenly burst apart, spraying both him and his mother in a spray of fizzy juice.

“Come on Ashe, better sit down before the food gets cold” said Jenny from behind Ashe, distracting her from the strange scene that unfolded in front of her as she joined her friend back at the table as the food was brought over.

****

**_The Lucky Gryphon, Ravnica Campus…_ **

While Ashe and Jenny was treating their mothers to lunch at Café Deco, Teddy and Gabriel were looking over chemistry notes while Harley and Kuro worked the lunch shift at The Lucky Gryphon and Piper was still in the middle of her Journalism class, “You know, despite being around when humans discovered half this stuff, I still don’t understand any of it” sighed Gabriel as he put his noted down in favour of taking a sip of his latest cup of coffee.

Teddy had to agree with his vampiric friend: while they may be much older than they appear, there were things about the way the world worked that eluded them; even to this day. The duos musings over the human world and chemistry was interrupted by the sudden appearance of two plates of steaming food suddenly entering their fields of vision.

“Thought you lads could do with a break, since your brainpower must be almost used up” said Doug as he offered to the lads two plates of his famous chilli con carne with one plate having a side of Doritos while the other had some fresh chips in a basket. Despite the owner’s dismissive attitude towards Teddy and Gabe telling him they should pay for the food, a grumble from Teddy’s stomach quickly forced them to relent and accept the offered food with the promise of payment later.

As Doug put the plates down and left the lads to enjoy their lunch in peace, something in the corner of his field of vision caught Gabriel’s attention for a brief moment as he turned to face whatever it was. When he saw that there was nothing, Gabriel done a quick sweep of the Gryphon to see if he could spot anything out of place.

“Dude, your food’s gonna get cold. Is something up?” asked Teddy with a chilli coated chip in hand, prompting Gabriel to snap out of his funk and focus his attention back towards his friend and food, “I had the strangest feeling. It was as if we were being watched but when I looked, there was nothing” replied Gabriel quietly to Teddy as a means to keep his suspicions to a minimum. Sighing at Gabriel’s latest ‘paranoia episode’ but knowing better than to dismiss them, Teddy put the chilli coated chip back down before leaning out of the booth to see if anything was amiss.

“I’m guessing that’s your culprit over there” said Teddy, motioning Gabe to turn to face what he was looking at. Sat by the door was a black cat with green eyes and a worn brown collar with a red gem-like pendant hanging from the middle. The minute the cat seemed to notice the boys staring at it, it was out the door before they could do anything.

****

**_Sinclair Household, Chiswick…_ **

Despite the strange occurrence with the coke can exploding in the child’s face, lunch with Jenny and their mothers was quite enjoyable for Ashe as she fondly smiled at the scene before her. Having finished their lunch, Mrs. Sinclair had insisted on them all coming back to the house for some tea and cakes and promised Ashe she would drop her off back at the campus before curfew. So they all piled into Mrs. Sinclair’s car and all went back to Ashe’s childhood home in Chiswick.

“And then, after hunting high and low for them all afternoon after bringing the stray home, we find Ashe and Jenny sound asleep in our bed upstairs with the wee kitten happily nestled between them” laughed Mrs Sinclair as she and Jenny’s mother continued to laugh at the girl’s mischievous adventures when they were young, much to their embarrassment.

“Of course, being the sort of person he was, Eric took the kitten to work the next day to get her checked up and fed properly before bringing her home as an official member of the family” smiled Mrs. Sinclair as she affectionately stroked the now much older cat currently purring on her lap, “He truly was a great man Liz, it pains me to no end seeing you without him at your side. I’m truly sorry for your lose” sighed Jenny’s mother as she placed a reassuring hand on her friend’s shoulder.

“And I hear from Jenny that you’re planning on following in his footsteps Ashe” said Jenny’s mother as she turned to smile as Ashe who was currently mid bit into a biscuit when she heard her name, prompting a light laugh from the mothers at the sight, “Every time I think back on him and our time together, I always saw him at his kindest and happiest when he was at the clinic helping animals in need” replied Ashe fondly as she stared into her cup thinking of her time with her father.

“Well I’m sure that he’d be proud of the woman his little ember has grown into” said Jenny’s mother, causing Ashe to momentarily stiffen at the mention of her father’s name for her but quickly relaxed before anyone could question it.

****

As the afternoon quickly turned onto evening, Ashe and her mother stood at their doorstep waving Jenny and her mother off with a promise of another lunch date as they got into the taxi before leaving the street and the mother/daughter duo returned to the warmth of the house. “Right, let me just grab a few things and we’ll get you back to the university before curfew” said Mrs. Sinclair as she began walking round the living room hunting for items like her keys, jacket, etc. while Ashe just stood in the doorway and watched her mother dot about the place, “What was dad like when you met him?” asked Ashe suddenly, which caught her mother’s attention who stared at her daughter with a strange look before it quickly turned to a wistful one.

“He was very charming and was just as every bit as kind and caring back then as he was now. Right to the very end” replied Mrs. Sinclair as she took a moment to quietly sit down in the nearby couch in the living room. Not wanting to risk exposing the Regiment, and herself in the process, Ashe walked over to her mother and sat down next to her, “I’m sorry for asking, it’s just that Jenny’s dad was a completely different man up until he passed away and was curious if dad was anything like that” explained Ashe as a sort of explanation to her mother to the seemingly random question, which wasn’t a full lie; just a slight bending of the truth.

If there was any doubts Mrs. Sinclair had for her daughter’s reason behind the sudden question, she didn’t show it as she smiled at Ashe and gave her a quick hug before slowly pulling herself up off the sofa, “Your father loved you very much and would be proud of the person that you’ve become. Now let’s get you back to the campus” said Mrs. Sinclair as she took the keys from the coffee table and headed straight for the door with Ashe in tow.

****

**_Ravnica Campus, London…_ **

The drive to the campus was filled with Ashe filling her mother in on how she was doing on the course and, of course, if she had made any friends. “Well of course I’d love to meet them, you can bring them round next time you visit” said Mrs. Sinclair immediately after Ashe told her that she’d made a few friends, much to Ashe’s minor chagrin just imagining the conversations and never living the embarrassment down.

Fortunately for Ashe, they arrived at the campus before she could endure more of her mother’s plans for her next visit with her friends, “Think you’ll be able to make it this weekend with your friends?” asked her mum before Ashe could even step a foot out the car door, “I’ll talk it over with them and let you know beforehand” replied Ashe as she quickly hugged her mother goodbye and was out the car as if she’d burned herself.

****

Ever since the masked woman stalked her and Teddy on her first night on campus, Ashe always felt on edge walking through the sparsely populated campus, though at least this time she’d have a fighting chance against any murderous zombie people and the like. As Ashe continued her way towards the dorms, a sudden noise caught her attention as she turned to see the cause, only to spot a student had fallen over while carrying their coursework from Ravnica Hall. Silently berating herself for jumping at something so simply but still wary, Ashe began turning to make her way over to the fallen student when she noticed someone else had bet her there and was in the process of helping them up, when they themselves suddenly slipped on something and joined them upon the cold concrete.

“Are you okay?” asked Ashe as she cautiously walked up to the two students who’d fallen over while keeping an eye out for anything for her to slip on herself, “Yeah we’re okay. It was weird though; it hasn’t rained at all today and there was only a light dusting of frost this morning. Yet it felt as though the ground was slippery like it was covered in ice” said the first student as they racked together their notes for the second time before cautiously getting to their feet with Ashe’s help. This time they were able to get to their feet no bother, much to their confusion however, as it was quite late, they all paid it no mind before going their separate ways.

****

While the three students went their separate ways towards their dorms, a figure watched the scene from the shadows of the patio before turning to leave the campus and stepped into the light, revealing themselves to be wearing a set of grey trousers and a light blue trench coat with the sleeves rolled back to just under the elbows to reveal worn brown linin wraps that covered their fists, with a glowing red gem secured round a thin chain on their left wrist that swayed in the light breeze as they walked off into the distance while slowly fading away, until it appeared as if they were never there.

****

**_Dorm #247, Ravnica Campus…_ **

Having managed to ‘sneak past’ (they had their nose deep in a book so Ashe just waltzed on through) the person at the desk, Ashe let out a tired sigh as she fully entered the dorm and plopped herself face first into the comfort of her bed.

“Take it the reunion lunch with your mum and friend went well?” called Piper from her side of the room, prompting Ashe to rotate her head so she was facing her roommate and fellow Faerûnian. Piper was currently wrapped in her usual fuzzy hoodie with the hood up and light grey sweats with a laptop nestled upon her crossed legs, however her focus right now was fixed on Ashe, who slowly rose from her bed and began picking up stray bits of comfy clothes that she planned to change into, “Yeah, it was nice to catch up with Jenny after spending so long apart” replied Ashe as she stepped into the bathroom to change into her comfy clothes.

After spending a couple of minutes in the bathroom changing and brushing her teeth, Ashe emerged from the bathroom wearing a pair of baggy sweatpants and oversized t-shirt with an open navy cardigan with grey pockets, similar to her mum’s, before clambering into her bed and sorting her array of pillows.

“There was something strange that occurred during lunch that I can’t get out of my head” commented Ashe after settling down and turning to face her roommate, “While we were getting the drinks, a kid swiped a can just before I could get it. When I went to confront them, the can suddenly burst open and sprayed its contents all over the kid and their mother as if it had been violently shaken beforehand” explained Ashe as Piper hummed in thought upon hearing the strange encounter, “Maybe should bring it up with the Prof next time you see him down in the Tomb” suggested Piper after a minute’s silence between the girls before she put her laptop down on her desk and proceeded to get into her bed as well.

Once she was settled into her bed, the conversation topic between the roommates shifted over to the remainder of each of their days and any gossip they heard that was worth sharing. The two talked and laughed long into the night before finally turning in for the night, all the while unaware of the set of glowing feline eyes staring through the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot thickens with a wee bit of spooky cliffhangers :3
> 
> So sorry for not updating for a while, have recently started working two jobs so haven't got as much writing time as I did in the past. I'm still working away on this in the background and hope y'all are enjoying the story so far.
> 
> As always, please Kudos and if you want to see anything or just wanna say something nice, comments are always welcome >.<


	12. The Unexpected Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After having an intense nightmare, Teddy contemplates visiting someone from his past while the others decide to look into the strange occurrences that were happening around the campus as of late. What will they uncover in their searches and what does Teddy's nightmare mean fro the young werewolf?

**_Dorm #616, Ravnica Campus…_ **

Cracking an eye open to glare at the blaring alarm currently sitting upon his desk, Teddy slammed a fist into the offending device and silencing the noise before rolling over to stare at the wall next to his bed. After finishing the Chemistry midterm test yesterday, Teddy and the other chemistry students were blessed with a couple days of respite before returning to the inevitable stress of university life.

After a couple of minutes contemplating whether or not to remain in bed, Teddy eventually managed to wrangle himself out of bed and into the shared bathroom between himself and Harley, who was no doubt currently either at class or working away at The Lucky Gryphon. While standing within the shower and allowing the warm water to rush over his back and wake him up, Teddy suddenly felt a chill enter the room however, he ignored the sudden shiver as he finished up in the shower and stepped out to dry himself off.

Heading over to the mirrored cupboard while scrubbing his hair dry with the towel, Teddy cleaned off the condensation only to be shocked by what met him in the mirror. While the person in the mirror did look like Teddy, their hair was inversed so the majority was silver with tufts of dark brown and a black strip with runed edges ran from one side of his face to the other, showing off his glazed eyes that seemed to stare directly at Teddy’s very soul.

“Chan fhaigh duine às an fhuachd” spoke the face in the mirror before a hand with blackened fingers suddenly shot through the mirror and began to choke Teddy.

****

The suddenly blaring noise from his alarm clock echoed through Teddy’s ears as he lurched up into a sitting position, gasping for air and taking in his surroundings. Upon realising it was only a nightmare, Teddy ran a hand through his dishevelled hair before turning his alarm off and heading into the bathroom to freshen up and head to Ravnica Hall; all the while unaware or the claw marks scratched deep into the wall next to his bed.

****

**_New Scotland Yard, London…_ **

After spending the majority of the previous day looking over the autopsy with Mariah and looking over the crime scene in person, Carmilla came into the office bright and early to look into cases relating to Faerûnian cases with the main focal point being signs of Seidr Tek. After getting the all clear from Captain Minos to use the briefing room without any interruption from their more human colleagues, Carmilla began placing out the various Faerûnian cases and ordering them into date of occurrence around the board.

While busy placing the pictures up and tying red string to act as the connections between the cases, the briefing door suddenly opening behind her to reveal the medical examiner from yesterday, “Got those results from our Thrall friend you asked for Detective” called Mariah as she closed the door behind her as quickly as she entered before whistling in amazement at the web Carmilla had crafted, “Someone’s been a very busy bee”.

Mariah’s sudden entrance into the briefing room momentarily brought Carmilla out of her detective musing before returning to setting up the red strings, “Thanks for getting that on such short notice Mariah, just put it on the table there. I’ll call down if need anything else” called Carmilla without so much as glancing back from the vast board of crimes before her. When Carmilla failed to hear the door open and close after dismissing Mariah back down to the morgue, she finally tore her gaze away from the main board to find the young Canadian staring intently at one of the images she had yet to place on the timeline board.

****

Letting her curiosity drive her, Carmilla forwent asking the examiner to leave in favour of looking at the picture herself. The image itself was from an older case, dating around ten years at least, involving a middle aged Faerûnian Moştenitor who’d been almost unidentifable, had it not been for their white tribal markings tattooed onto the skin that hadn’t been turned to cinder. The case had been dismissed as an act of arson due to a lack of evidence however, the members of the police force who were Faerûnian knew better; the poor woman had been subjugated to Seidr Tek.

“I remember this case; the woman had used her Moştenitor abilites of foresight to scribble small pieces of her killer but we never managed to make sense of it as only the Moştenitor can understand the musings they write” said Carmilla as she turned to the table with the remaining pieces from the case to hunt for something particular. After finding what she was looking for, Carmilla returned to the main table with what she was after in the first place; a worn brown envelope held together by white string.

Immediatly undoing the string keeping the envelope sealed, Carmilla reached into the unsealed envelope and pulled out a series of worn looking documents before placing them upon the table. To the human eye, the documents appeared to be nothing more than unintiellecutal scribbles accompanied by meaningless sketches, however to Faerûnian eyes, these scribblings were the windows into what the Moştenitor perseeved in their glimpse through the weave of time.

"While the Faerûnian officers assigned this case were only able to translate some of the Moştenitor’s scribings, one drawing appears to be persistant throughout” explained Carmilla as she filed through the docuemtns until she found the one she was looking for; upon this page was what appeared to be a wrist binder with what appeared to be a gem loosely attached to the middle.

"Looks like we’re going to need some outside help for this one” sighed Carmilla as she returned the documents to their envelope and reached over for her jacket, ”If you’re going to tag along however, please don’t embaress me by munching on a random piece of raw meat” sighed Carmilla as she held the door open for Mariah before heading out herself and locking the room up.

****

**_The Lucky Gryphon, Ravnica Campus…_ **

Having managed to make himself presentable despite his rough awakening, Teddy stifled a yawn while walking into the establishment before heading over to the table currently occupied by Gabriel and Ashe, "You're looking rougher than normal Ted, shouldn't you get some more rest?" asked Ashe in concern for her friend as Teddy slowly slid into the seat opposite her and slumped against the window ledge.

"Thanks for the concern Ashe, but you don't worry about me, I'll be fine" replied Teddy with a small smile gracing his face from Ashe's concern for his wellbeing before reaching into his shoulder bag to retrieve a small book, "Here's the book you asked me for during chem yesterday" revealed Teddy as he passed the wee book over to Ashe, who happily accepted it and read the title aloud, "Idiot's Guide to British Sign Language. Thanks Ted, this'll help keep Harley's telepathy under wraps when in public"

After pocketing the book away for a more convenient time, Ashe and the lads began making plans for their day off since they had no classes for the rest of the week, "My mum has been practically begging to meet everyone for a while now, she even cornered me the other night practically demanding that she meet you guys on Saturday" sighed Ashe as she remembered the embarrassing moment with her mother when she remembered something else that happened last night.

"There was something that happened actually when was heading back to the dorms last night" stated Ashe as she recalled to them what had happened with the two students and the sudden icy patch that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, "That does sound strange, we had a similar instance too with a black cat during lunch the other day. Maybe we should check out the Tomb's library" mused Gabriel, prompting a sigh from Teddy who began crawling his way out of the booth.

"Well, I for one do not want to waste a rare gift such as a day off sitting in some dusty underground library. You guys can go down and investigate but I for one am either going into town or back to bed" yawned Teddy as he finally crawled out from the booth before turning back to the duo, "As for your mum's offer Ashe, I'd be honoured to come visit over the weekend but I've got prior engagements" continued Teddy with an apologetic look before turning and heading for the door.

****

**_Tomb of the Sacred Hunters…_ **

After Teddy left the duo to do whatever the tired werewolf was planning on doing, Ashe and Gabe casually made their way from the Lucky Gryphon down to the Tomb to begin researching the strange occurrences happening around campus.

"You got any idea what Teddy's prior engagement would be?" asked Ashe to Gabriel, believing the vampire would know more about their friend's schedule, as they pushed open the doors to the Tomb, "Believe it or not Ashe, I actually have no clue what Teddy was talking about. He's always been absent during the weekends but never actually told anyone what he was doing" mused Gabriel as he sipped on his coffee he was nursing from the Lucky Gryphon.

"What's Teddy not telling you this time?" asked Piper from behind the duo, prompting them to turn around in surprise as they both knew Piper was meant to have class, "Teacher called in sick, so we got sent today's lecture in an email and got dismissed for the day" revealed Piper knowing full well what was going through their heads before deciding to move onto a different subject altogether.

****

After bringing Piper up to speed on what happened to other day with the incident with the child at the café, the disappearing ice patch, and the sudden appearance of the black cat; Gabriel lead the trio over to the large set of double wooden door sitting at the far left of the main Tomb hall before muttering something incoherent and then pushing them open.

Upon stepping through the threshold of the large doors, the trio found themselves in a large circular room that extended deeper underground than they already were. A wooden spiral staircase sat attached to the wooden banister they were standing on and descended to the levels below, with several other banisters dotted at various intervals to indicate a new floor.

As Gabriel led the group down the spiral staircase to the first of the lower banisters, Ashe noticed what appeared to be a set of large double wooden doors. The doors themselves appeared to hold the same appearance as the doors Gabriel opened back in the Tomb; only these doors had runes etched into the stone archway surrounding it, "What do these runes mean Gabe?" asked Ashe as she walked over to the large set of doors to get a better look.

"Ah, I see you've found our Atlas Gate. Been a long time since we've had to use that old thing" said Gabriel with a faint twinkle in his eye as he appeared to loose himself in thought, "And what exactly is an Atlas Gate when it's at home?" asked Piper as she joined Ashe in studying the large door.

"After the cataclysm brought the two world together, strange focal points began cropping all over the globe. The first of the Faerûnian clans discovered these focal points and discovered that these focal points were in fact connected. In order to harness the power of these focal points, the clans erected these stone archways around them, each slab inscribed with runes of teleportation in the clan's varying languages which gave way to the Atlas Gates" explained Gabriel as he placed a hand upon the stone archway, causing the runes to emit a faint glow before fading back into darkness.

"Due to modernisation and the introduction of vehicles like planes and boat, the Quiet Council passed notice that Atlas Gates were to be destroyed but these old beauties are tough" smiled Gabriel as he spend a few more minutes staring longingly at the Atlas Gate before moving away from the old archway and continued his descent of the spiral staircase.

****

**_Dorm #616, Ravnica Campus…_ **

Having made it back to his dorm after bidding farewell to Ashe and Gabriel, Teddy immediately threw himself onto his bed with a dignified grunt while blankly staring straight ahead. After a couple of minutes of staring, Teddy reached over to his desk to grab a book and began shifting into a more comfortable position to read, when he noticed the claw marks at the side of his bed.

Placing the book he was about to read on his main pillow, Teddy turned his attention towards the marks as he brushed his fingers along the damaged wall, which surprisingly was cool to the touch. Upon placing his hands on the gashes, Teddy's mind instantly began flooding with strange memories of a snowy village at night and a happy family round the fireplace. Before long, the images began warping and distorting into a great battlefield littered with the bodies of Vikings, young and old, with a huge shadowy figure looming over the mountain range in the shape of a wolf surveying the scene.

Flinching away from the wall marks when the large creature turned to face him, Teddy was surprised to find himself breathing heavily with a sudden sense of apprehension and anxiety coursing through his being. Taking a few moments to calm his breathing and get his erratic emotions under control, Teddy slapped his cheeks twice before walking away from the marks and moved to leave the room with one destination in mind; Granny Qilin.

****

**_Faerûn Hold, Tomb of the Sacred Hunters…_ **

As the trio finished descending the spiral staircase, they were met with the site of none other than Franklin with a white haired woman standing before another large set of burnt wooden doors, "Unfortunately the Hold is currently in use by the master and Detective, none may enter under the master's orders" boomed Franklin with a tone of finality, indicating there was no arguing with the Professor's orders.

"I'd have thought after the Riders we would have a moments reprieve from another case, what's Detective Em even doing here?" questioned Gabe with a slight whingey tone, making Ashe and Piper quietly stiffer their laughs at the sight of 'the badass coffee vampire' pouting. The group's attention was suddenly shifted from Franklin as they heard the sound of giggling coming from the woman, "Seriously Gabe, you keep pouting like that and no one is ever going to believe that you're some 'badass vampire' that you proclaim to be" commented the woman between her fits of laughter in a slight Canadian accent, only to abruptly stop when Gabriel's hands were placed firmly on her shoulders.

****

"Well if it isn't Mariah Cartier, how's life in the big league with old Captain Minos?" asked Gabriel with a fond smile on his face while bringing the woman, now known to Ashe and Piper as Mariah, into a firm hug, "Not going to lie, I miss you and the big furball every now and again but other than that, I get a steady supply of meat to keep my urges at bay and the Captain and Detective have been awesome in ensuring I don't get caught" smiled Mariah before turning to Ashe and Piper, "Didn't take you long to replace me though, aren't you going to introduce me?" teased Mariah as she slipped from Gabriel's grasp and began sniffing, yes actually SNIFFING, the others.

"Uh Gabe, gonna explain to us what your friend is doing?" asked Ashe awkwardly as Mariah took hold of her hand and brought it up to her nose before deeply inhaling, "Right sorry, Ashe and Piper this here is Mariah Cartier. She used to be a student here and member of the Regiment till the graduated and got a job at Scotland Yard under the Detective and Captain Minos" explained Gabriel before Mariah suddenly stopped sniffing Ashe and leapt back, interrupting the vampire from his monologue.

Suddenly Mariah began slowly growing in height until she was roughly the same size as Franklin, all the while white fur began covering her body. Her face began distorting into an elongated snot with her eyebrows whitening and expanded so her entire forehead was covered in white fur that tapered of down the snout. Large tusk-like teeth protruded out from the bottom of her mouth and her ears protruded outwards in an elfish manner. From behind Mariah, a prehensile tail slowly appeared and calmly swayed from side to side as Mariah finished her transformation.

****

"As you can see, Mariah is a member of the Wendigo Pack. Along with the Wendigo's insatiable hunger for flesh, Mariah has the additional feature of absorbing the memories and characteristics of those she devours. This skill has been a great help to both the Regiment and no doubt Scotland Yard as well" explained Gabriel as he walked over and patted Mariah on the forearm before the Wendigo started to shrink and revert back to human.

"Since we're on the subject of introductions, and the meeting between those two will probably take a while, why don't you guys show me round and maybe can surprise the furball" proposed Mariah as she directed a hopeful look in her eyes towards Gabe, "I suppose we could, since we can't get access to the Hold, I guess there's nothing better to do for the time being" said Gabriel in agreement before leading the group back up the stairs, their original goal set aside for the time being.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd really like to apologise to those invested in this for the amount of time it's taken to get this chapter up >.<
> 
> With my motivation slowly ebbing back to write and with work hitting a dry spell, I'm hopefully going to be posting a bit more frequently 
> 
> As always, please Kudo and leave your comments on what you'd wanna see in a future chapter maybe :3


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